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"For us, it’s just like we’re not a superteam from the start" - VIT Derke after a close series against Liquid
Team Vitality’s clash against Team Liquid in the Upper Bracket of VCT EMEA Kickoff proved to be the first real test for the squad, going the full distance in an all-out brawl between the two teams. Vitality eventually emerged as the victor, placing them two series wins away from qualifying for Masters Santiago.
Following their series win, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Vitality’s Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, who spoke on the series as a whole, the team’s preparation coming into Kickoff, his thoughts on the new crop of teams taking over the EMEA stage and more in this exclusive interview.
*The following interview has been lightly edited for readability.
"It's really good that the series was close"
From the get-go, it was clear that this series would go the distance. Liquid kicked off Breeze with a pistol round win and conversion, only for Vitality to answer back with 5 straight rounds on Defense. Liquid then adapted, taking 4 of the last 5 rounds of the half to equalise.
On Defense, Liquid won the second pistol but failed to convert this time, seeing Vitality pull ahead to double digits first. In a furious trade of rounds to follow, Liquid came close but ultimately fell just shy of stealing away Vitality's map pick, ending the map at 13-11 in favor of the Bees.
Pearl told a different story. Liquid's unique team composition saw them take 8 rounds on the first half thanks to clever maneuvering and powerful site executes. Vitality looked stumped for answers against Liquid. Shifting to Defense, however, Vitality was quick to seize back 4 rounds after winning the pistol, clawing back to an equal scoreline.
While Liquid's Attack had look indomitable, their Defense lacked the strength to withstand Vitality, the latter claiming an equal 8 rounds in total on the second half to force overtime. Liquid eventually managed to close out Pearl 14-12 after winning back-to-back clutch rounds, drawing the series and forcing a map 3.
In the final map of the series, Vitality roared ahead to a swift 3-1 lead after stealing away the conversion from Liquid following the latter's pistol win. While Liquid did quickly equalize back, Vitality's Defense on Corrode proved strong as they tore away to an 8-4 half, in pole position to close out the series.
Swapping over, Liquid showed better form as they stole back Vitality's conversion, pulling a total of 5 rounds in a fierce back-and-forth. Ultimately, however, Vitality did not falter long enough for Liquid to complete the comeback, closing the map 13-9 and winning the series.
Second match of Kickoff for you guys but what feels like the first real test for this team. What were the main challenges you think you faced this series?
Derke: We knew Pearl was their strong map and it was their map pick too. When we practiced against them previously, we also struggled. I think we had 7 rounds total. So, we knew coming in that we just needed to adapt and play. I think the map could have gone both ways.
Some of the rounds were really close and we could have won the rounds in overtime too. I know every losing team says this, but when you have almost double OT or even 1 OT... it really can go both ways. And I think today, they were just better in some situations with their communication, likely because they knew the map better.
For us, it was new. I was struggling. Historically, I don't even play Pearl. I don't have many officials on the map, maybe less than 20 played if you check. And then if you look at my other maps, I have hundreds probably. So, for me, adjusting to Pearl and stuff was the challenge. They played well, they were just knowing, not where we go, but knowing how to stop us in some executes in our comp. So, props to them on that map.
Without revealing anything strategic, what are your immediate thoughts on things that need to be improved for the team going forwards after this series?
Derke: I just need to look at the VOD. I already know some of my mistakes where I was overextending trying to fake and I also feel like we just… I won’t say communication problems, but I think there was one mistake we can easily fix that kind of is with communication.
I think a lot of rounds could have been cleaner. It happens when the series goes down to really close points. I feel like it’s easy to let these mistakes happen. Maybe not hearing your team as much or not be as efficient with it.
And I think in some rounds, we lost some extra time. So, I feel we’re just going to talk it out. I already have some points/questions to make to the team and say “Hey, this is my problem” and “when I was playing, from my perspective, I want to fix that”. Coaches will say there are problems. Maybe other players will just go into fixing that.
I think it’s a really good map from our perspective that we went close with it. And we have a lot of material to watch now because it’s hard when you play practice. And we kind of get used to getting, I would say, not the best results against Liquid.
So, it’s good for us to actually know what is happening and especially for me, because I haven’t played for that long. I think I just need to play more of the game overall and just practice more, and we’re going to be good. But again, I feel [Pearl] is one of their best maps, if not their best. So, still, props to them.
You spoke in another interview a few days ago that you were happy that you and the boys finally get to be back on the official server and that Kickoff was starting. How are you finding the new triple elimination format?
Derke: I mean, it’s good. I liked double elimination too last year. I think it’s an overall improvement from the first one. I wish there would be more finals. There, there is a clear Kickoff winner. Not just three winners. But I guess it’s hard to do with triple elimination. So, we’ll go with that. For me, I want to win as clean as possible and just go to Santiago. I think it’s a big goal for us.
And people just want to go to Chile. I don’t think many of us have been in Chile or a lot of countries. I haven’t visited any international for the last 2 internationals. Jamppi hasn’t visited in a long time. So, we really want to do. And we’re kind of pumped by that. That’s our motivation, to just go to Chile no matter what. For me, it means I just want to go as fast as possible, winning 4-0.
For me, it’s like fun because we haven’t gotten put in a stressful situation like this in an official. We came out as winners from it; that’s one big thing. And two, we just got the experience and we still had fun. Playing with the crowd when the stage starts, screaming and stuff. It’s really fun celebrating. Everyone’s playing the game, people hitting nice shots. For me, it was the most fun I had today in the longest time probably.
Last year wasn't that fun. We were kind of losing more. Right now, with Jamppi and Chronicle, I feel I have more friends in the team and it's become more enjoyable to play. Usually, I’m kind of quietish. I’m not screaming too much. But I have people who enjoy just having fun and kind of barking on stage or whatever. And it’s just fun being around that.
"I don't know why Riot is still doing these byes"
Kickoff this year has seen a string of new challengers in EMEA. The old established names are not the only ones gunning for international qualification this time around with old names like NAVI returning to the spotlight alongside new teams such as Gentle Mates and BBL.
We're seeing quite a few teams emerge that are looking dangerous. Which team do you think is the most underrated coming into Kickoff?
Derke: Everyone's so good in practice. So, it's hard to see in officials because people play differently there. So, you kind of need to see who plays how. But I think Gentle Mates had really good results, for example. You can't just overlook that. In my opinion, with the players they had and the results they've had... it's impressive against the teams.
I’m not surprised that a lot of the teams with better seedings who got a bye lost. Because for us, we’re coming from ULF game, we already played on stage. We were kind of hungry and we got that feeling. But for Liquid, it was the first match on stage. They didn’t get the same experience two days ago. And I think for us and BBL, it kind of actually helped us in this match.
All 4 teams who qualified for Champions last year have lost their opening match. Do you see the bye system as a detriment in some ways for teams?
Derke: I don't know why Riot is still doing these byes. They sometimes do it in internationals too and I feel like, nowadays, if you just have the experience on-stage and you gain momentum, it's really easy to snowball that momentum against teams who just skip stages or skip games. And I think it's really hard for them to come in.
I know Fnatic. I played with some of them and I know how the boys can feel if you get a bye but you’re playing against a Turkish team that just won really well a previous game and they’re going with that momentum. They already feel the stage. They know how things are going to go and they’re just ready for more. After you win, you don’t go like, “Oh, nice guys. Good job”. You just go, “I want more”.
You get that adrenaline and I feel like for Fnatic, it’s hard. Even though they had a strong start today and kind of gave it away, I think it’s still hard to play with these types of byes. I think it’s something for Riot to think about. Momentum in this game matters a lot, both outside and inside the game. How rounds will go. Because if you give too much, people will have ults and stuff and then, it’s just like a different game now.
"What superteam?"
Coming into 2026, the Vitality project was by far one of the most promising and exciting outputs from the off-season, bringing together some of the biggest names in VCT EMEA under one banner with the notion of another 'superteam'. Captained by young IGL Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen, the roster also reunited veteran champions Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov and Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev after a season apart.
The roster was then rounded out up and coming promising Turkish phenom Dawid "PROFEK" Święć and Ștefan "Sayonara" Mîtcu. The latter's prodigious talent and promise despite remaining too young to play within the league has brought many to the conclusion that the roster as a whole - is immensely stacked with talent.
This Vitality project has been one of the biggest draws for the EMEA league this year. The label “superteam” has been tossed out a lot when referring to your team, but I want to ask, from a player’s perspective. Do you consider Vitality a superteam?
Derke: No, I don’t. I mean, what superteam? Superteam for most people are like, oh, you put the best players into one team. But what best players? We had one guy, Jamppi, who barely found a team last year and got into BBL and kind of grew with them in a new role. We have me, who had a terrible season last year and is coming back in form now. We have UNFAKE, again from last year, subbing in while Sayonara is growing up a bit. And Sayonara is still waiting. He hasn’t played in Tier 1; he hasn’t played on the stage. So for now, we’re bringing him with us now to just have the experience. And we have Chronicle, good player, most trophies won and stuff coming in. But if you look at it on paper, I will not say it’s a superteam.
It was a team consisting of good players. PROFEK also did really well on his debut last year. For us, it’s just like we’re not a superteam from the start. But if we put in the work and we know how we can play, even against ULF, how we communicate, how we play the situation. If we can get to that level consistently, then maybe people will talk more about the superteam. But right now, we just need to grow. We're still adapting to each other. We don't know how these things go. But, of course, it's fun to play with these teammates because people have a lot of motivation and stuff.
I'm playing in a team where I can speak three languages. I have Chronicle, who I played before, and we're big friends. I have Jamppi, who's Finnish and I've known him for more than nine years now, almost. So, we came from CS LANs, playing against each other all our lives and stuff. And now we're finally in a team, and it just feels nice because we can just share experiences or just have a laugh here and there.
So, of course, I'm just enjoying the moment because getting personalities like this in a team is really hard, especially if you don't know people. And, yeah, for me, it's really exciting to see how far we can go. It just depends how much work we put in.
Despite your shared experiences and pasts, on paper it’s still a new roster. You’re bringing together 5 players who’ve never teamed together before. Is there any particular element that’s taken a little while to click on this team?
Derke: Not really. I think it's just understanding how people think in the game. I think that's the main one because in offseason, yeah, you can do fundamentals and structure well, but I think it all comes to synergizing how we actually play together on the server. Because me and Jamppi, for example, I noticed we have very different thinking over the game and stuff.
Even though it's funny that we came from the same background, basically. Chron, I would say, is in the middle of that, between us. So, for me, it's just getting used to it and also pushing myself to tell these things how I want some situations to be. So, we just find a common ground on a lot of these situations. I just know how each other plays because if one of us has to fully adapt to another, I think it's a bad thing. We all should find a middle ground and just play by that.
And I think right now, slowly but surely, we're getting there. And that's our whole offseason plan. I think it was good for us now kicking off the VCT, just getting that actually working and stuff because a lot of things in officials are way different than on practice.
For me, after the last official, I’d say it unlocked me in practice a bit. Kind of like, “Ok, I can speak up more like I did in officials”. Now people are going to be a bit more used to it because when I was doing it in practice, people were like, we don’t know if its going to be the same in officials. But now people know that I actually do way more in officials.
And for me, it’s my biggest thing in my head right now. I just need to bring how I play in official and communicate in official into scrims. And I think we're going to be good and find that middle ground easy.
I just talk it out. And I like that in this team, we can have a lot of conversations, and nobody takes it personally and stuff. People always just kind of like move on fast. People are saying, okay, yeah, we'll do this and move on and kind of work on it and it's great.
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Featured Image Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
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