Fnatic enter Valorant with SUMN FC roster

SUMN FC, unarguably the best unsigned European Valorant roster have finally found their home after being picked up by FNATIC on the eve of the Valorant Champions Tour.

The @sumnfc crew officially becomes Fnatic VALORANT 👇

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) February 3, 2021

Fnatic enters Valorant with the following roster:

• Jake “Boaster” Howlett
• James “Mistic” Orfila
• Muhammad “Moe40” Hariff
• Domagoj “Doma” Fancev
• Kostas “tsack” Theodoropoulos
• Jacob “mini” Harris (coach)

The roster, led by Jake "Boaster" Howlett, made a splash in December's First Strike Europe where they defeated FunPlus Pheonix to set up a final with Team Heretics, while they ultimately lost that match, the team made a distinct impression with their highly coordinated plays. As runners-up, they took home $20,000.

Boaster had previously competed in rival tactical shooter CSGO. (Picture: Gfinity)

Their reputation as the "best-unsigned team in Europe" was further cemented with a strong performance in last weekend's Red Bull Homeground, easily defeating fellow unsigned team Monkey Business in the quarter-finals set up a semi-final against Team Liquid.

(Picture: Red Bull)

In what was the match of the tournament, both teams gave as good as they got with the game taking all five maps to settle. Team Liquid ultimately saw that game over the line but it was clear for all to see that SUMN FC was a team on the up.

“We’re so excited to finally join VALORANT. It’s been the number one thing fans have been asking for since the game launched, and we’ve taken our time to identify a roster that fits our vision of competing for the top titles in every game we enter," said Fnatic's Chief Gaming Officer Patrik “cArn” Sättermon on announcing the signing.

“With our record of success in FPS games such as Counter-Strike, we’re looking forward to writing this new chapter in Fnatic’s history, and building our legacy in a new title.”

The fact that they haven't been snapped up yet was the subject of a little debate. Yinsu Collins, SUMN FC's, now former, team manager had previously confirmed offers had been made to sign the UK based roster and they were biding their time. Some suggested that SUMN FC would only be happy to sign if a Tier 1organisation was going to take all five players on board.

The team will compete for the first time in the Valorant Champions Tour Challengers, which starts on Thursday 4th February 2021.