Fearoth joins Fnatic on loan for the VCT Stage 1 Masters Island

Fnatic has announced the temporary signing of Alliance’s Enzo ‘Fearoth’ Mestari ahead of the VCT Stage 1 Masters event in Iceland.

Fearoth will fill in for Andrey ‘BraveAF’ Gorchakov who is unable to attend the event due to visa issues and the travel restrictions currently in place for Russian citizens.

BraveAF is currently suspended by Fnatic pending the outcome of an internal investigation following a series of private messages leaked on social media. In this news, BraveAF appears to be expressing its support for Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, sparking outrage in the esports world and calling for Fnatic to drop the player.

VCT Roster Update: As we keep our eyes on Masters Reykjavík, we salute @FearothVAL to the squad.

We would like to thank you very much for that @theAllianceGG that you approved this loan.

Read more about the change:

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) March 31, 2022

Although Fnatic already has a backup player in Tom ‘otom’ Hart, who was signed in early March, Fnatic believes Fearoth is a more suitable replacement for BraveAF.

“I think we’ve found a great replacement in Enzo who has proven over the past 18 months at Valorant to be one of the best Sovas in the region,” said Fnatic Senior Team Director Colin ‘CoJo’ Johnson in an explanation.

“He has consistently played at the highest level and led Alliance to some really impressive performances, especially in the past few months as their IGL and captain in Polaris VRL. We think he will fit in fairly easily and add great value when he goes to Iceland.”

Another replacement in the works?

Fnatic’s announcement comes amid rumors that another team member, Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev, may miss the VCT Stage 1 Masters event after it returned a positive test.

Derke’s availability for the Masters event remains in doubt

Joona ‘H1ber’ Parviainen, who currently plays for KOI, is set to replace Derke but the Finnish player remains hopeful of making the trip to Reykjavík.

“There is a great chance that I will leave” Derke wrote on Reddit. “Just relax and believe boys.”

Fnatic is one of the three EMEA teams that will compete in the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland. They were named the region’s top seed following FunPlus Phoenix’s withdrawal, and as such will skip the group stage and only enter the tournament in the playoffs.