Plenty of coaches make their way across the world to compete, but none more than Gen.G’s former head coach, Chris “Elmapuddy” Tebbit, who went from CS:GO to NA VALORANT, Pacific VALORANT, and now to one of EMEA’s best for this experienced Australian coach.
Fnatic has officially signed the former Gen.G stalwart as their new head coach for the VCT 2024 season. This marks his first team swap in his VALORANT coaching career, having been dedicated to Gen.G since 2021 when they were competing in North America. He stuck around when the team rebuilt and went to Korea, helping them finish fourth in the Pacific League.
Now, Elmapuddy has some big shoes to fill. Fnatic were the best team for the majority of the VCT 2023 season, winning both LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo. The team’s rise from EMEA competitors to the clear favorite across the entire world was thanks to three consistent pieces: IGL Jake “Boaster” Howlett, duelist Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, and former head coach Jacob “mini” Harris. Ever since their performance at Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík in 2021, the team stuck with those three core pieces and built around them for future success.
The 2023 season proved to be their peak so far, with an entire roster of potential top ten players worldwide. Boaster stepped his game up, and his leadership alongside mini helped the team complete one of the most important comebacks in VALORANT history. Icebox against LOUD in the LOCK//IN finals was the true first step for Fnatic’s dominance, and they continued it regionally. They faced a speed bump, losing to Team Liquid in the regional finals for the season, but they won Masters Tokyo and headed into Champions 2023 with some momentum and all the talent in the world.
Ultimately, it didn’t end well for the team, losing to LOUD in a close series and finishing in fourth. They couldn’t end the year as well as they started it, but they still proved themselves as a powerful team, especially since they haven’t had any roster changes heading into 2024. That was, until their head coach announced his departure, seeking a “better work/life balance.”
So, Fnatic still have a top-four team in the world that has proven itself capable of winning it all, but lost their head coach.
Elmapuddy now has to fill in the role of a championship-level head coach, despite never winning a major tournament in VALORANT. It’s a high bar, but this Australian knows how to work with players of different backgrounds and different languages. Then again, maintaining Fnatic as a top team is a different task entirely.
