Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev will not be playing with Fnatic at 2022 VCT Masters Reykjavík in April, according to esports reporter Arran “Halo” Spake. The 19-year-old has reportedly been ruled out of the competition due to illness.
Halo reported the organization is already looking for a replacement for Derke, but the candidates are unknown at this point. With Derke reportedly out of Masters Reykjavík, it is to be expected that Fnatic will look to sign a Jett or Raze main in the coming days as a stand-in. Derke used Jett in 65 percent of his matches and played with Raze in 35 percent of his matches in the past three months, according to VLR.gg.
The news of Derke’s illness comes just one day after Fnatic suspended Andrey “BraveAF” Gorchakov from the active lineup after messages surfaced in which he supposedly showed support to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Fnatic said it would conduct an investigation into BraveAF’s case; it announced today Enzo “Fearoth” Mestari as BraveAF’s replacement for Masters Reykjavík. BraveAF would not have been able to attend the tournament anyway, according to Fnatic, due to visa issues.
Fnatic are one of the three EMEA squads that qualified for Masters Reykjavík, the first international VALORANT LAN tournament of the year. The event will take place between April 10 and 24 in Iceland.
