Riot postpones Fnatic’s VCT EMEA match after ‘multiple’ cases of COVID-19

The No. 1 squad in the league need some time to recover.

Photo by Bruno Alvares via Riot Games

Riot Games postponed Fnatic vs. KOI’s VALORANT match in VCT EMEA after multiple players in the Fnatic camp tested positive for COVID-19. Instead, Giants and FUT Esports will play at 11am CT and will be the sole series of the European league today.

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Fans with tickets for today’s event can still attend the match but will also receive an option to refund their purchase in the coming days. “We wish the Fnatic players a speedy recovery and apologize to fans for the inconvenience caused by the change in schedule,” Riot said on April 20.

Fnatic didn’t reveal which players tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the match versus KOI, but star duelist Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev hinted on Twitter he and Leo Janesson are the ones affected. “COVID 2:0 Derke and Leo,” he said.

Fnatic are currently leading VCT EMEA, having defeated Giants, BBL Esports, Team Heretics, and Team Liquid in the first four matches. They’re the only undefeated squad in Europe’s main VALORANT league and have only dropped one map so far in a series versus BBL. KOI, on the other hand, are one of the worst teams in the league with a 1-3 record

Related: Numbers game: Why Fnatic are a cut above the rest in VCT EMEA

“A huge thank you to Riot for their understanding and cooperation on the matter,” Fnatic said today. “We’ll provide more updates as we have them, including our updated schedule. Today’s watch party in London is unfortunately also postponed.”

No one knows when this match will be played at this time because the players still need to recover. Riot’s health protocols also prevent the league from rushing the situation.

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Image of Leonardo Biazzi
Leonardo Biazzi
Staff writer and CS:GO lead. Leonardo has been passionate about games since he was a kid and graduated in Journalism in 2018. Before Leonardo joined Dot Esports in 2019, he worked for Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte. Leonardo also worked for HLTV.org between 2020 and 2021 as a senior writer, until he returned to Dot Esports and became part of the staff team.