Team Heretics beat Team Vitality 3-2 in the VCT EMEA Stage 1 grand final on Sunday, completing a full lower bracket run to lift their first official VCT trophy. The Spanish org ended a run of three straight VCT grand final losses dating back to Masters Shanghai 2024, and benjyfishy now heads to Masters London in his home country as an EMEA first seed.

Vitality took Breeze 13-10 and Pearl 13-7 to lead 2-1 in the series. Heretics clawed back through Lotus 15-13, Split 13-11, and Haven 15-13 to close it out. Two maps went to overtime. A third was decided by two rounds.

How Heretics Survived the Lower Bracket

This title was earned the hard way. Heretics lost their opening playoff match to Eternal Fire 1-2 and dropped straight into elimination territory. What followed was the longest survival run of any team in EMEA Stage 1 playoffs:

BBL Esports fell 2-0. FNATIC went down 2-1 in a match that included overtime on Ascent. Eternal Fire, the team that put Heretics in the lower bracket, lost 2-1 in a rematch where koshmaras ripped apart Fracture’s second half with a near-perfect run. Then FUT Esports were dispatched 3-1 in the Lower Final.

Four elimination series. Four wins. And then a Bo5 grand final against a Vitality roster built to win this exact tournament.

The Grand Final: Five Maps, Zero Margin

Vitality looked in control through the first three maps. Breeze was comfortable for Derke and Chronicle, who ran Heretics off the server on attack. Heretics fought back on Lotus, where Wo0t carried the late rounds in a 15-13 overtime finish. Pearl was a blowout in Vitality’s favor at 13-7, giving them a 2-1 lead and map point in the series.

Split was do-or-die. RieNs and benjyfishy combined for the key rounds in the second half, and Heretics survived 13-11 to force a decider.

Haven was overtime again. Neither side built a comfortable lead at any point. Heretics pulled ahead in the closing rounds through better clutch execution and smarter post-plant positioning. The final scoreline read 15-13, and with it, the trophy.

benjyfishy Goes Home

Benjamin David Fish will play an international VALORANT event in England for the first time. Masters London runs June 6-21 at the Copper Box Arena with a $1,000,000 prize pool, and Heretics enter as the EMEA first seed with a direct bye to playoffs.

The 22-year-old Brit went from Fortnite World Cup competitor to EMEA champion in under four years. His performances through the lower bracket, particularly against Fnatic and Eternal Fire, were some of the most individually decisive of the entire playoff run.

What This Means for Masters London

Three EMEA teams qualified for London: Heretics (first seed, straight to playoffs), Team Vitality (second seed), and FUT Esports (third seed). Vitality and FUT start in the Swiss Stage. FNATIC, Team Liquid, and BBL Esports, three of EMEA’s biggest names and Santiago attendees, are all staying home.

Heretics enter London having won five consecutive playoff series against five different opponents. Whether that form carries into an international field is the question. But for now, the org that spent years collecting runner-up finishes finally has a VCT title to show for it.