Images: Riot Games
An EMEA team won the first-ever VALORANT Champions back in 2021, can the region bag a second title this year?
With just half a month to go before VALORANT Champions 2024 kicks off on August 1 in Seoul and Incheon, South Korea, more and more teams have claimed their spots in this year's VALORANT world championship tournament.
Representing the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) EMEA League will be the United Kingdom's 
Fnatic, France's 
Team Vitality, Spain's 
Team Heretics, and Türkiye's 
FUT Esports. All four teams punched their tickets to South Korea by finishing in the Top 4 of the EMEA League's ongoing Stage 2 Playoffs.
Here's how the EMEA League's representatives each found their way to VALORANT Champions 2024:
FNATIC
FNATIC have been among the leaders in the EMEA league all season long, and they are looking to be the ones carrying the league's banner in VALORANT Champions.
They started the season with a solid 3rd-4th place finish in the EMEA Kickoff in February, proving its star-studded roster with players from all across the region does have the potential for greatness. They made good on that promise in EMEA Stage 1, eking out a Top 2 seed in a very competitive Group Alpha in the Group Stage (where all teams finished with 3-3 records) and then going all the way to win the Stage 1 Playoffs in May.
However, FNATIC fell back down to earth in the Shanghai Masters in June, where they only managed a 7th-8th place finish after getting knocked out by fellow EMEA team FUT.
FNATIC bounced back in Stage 2, pulling off a perfect 4-0 run through the Group Stage to earn a direct bye to the upper bracket semifinals in the Playoffs. They then exacted revenge over FUT to secure a Top 3 finish in the Playoffs and punch their ticket to South Korea.
Team Vitality
Team Vitality had arguably one of the most dramatic turnarounds this season, starting the year looking like backmarkers but slowly improving to become one of the EMEA league's representatives in this year's VALORANT Champions.
Vitality had a middling start in the EMEA Kickoff, failing to make it out of the event's Play-In Stage and finishing in 5th place. They then caught the short end of the stick in the aforementioned Group Alpha of the Stage 1 Group Stage, placing at the bottom of their group and finishing in 9th-10th place.
But in Stage 2, Vitality seemingly flipped the switch to finish second in their group behind FNATIC with a 3-1 record. They then carried their momentum in the Playoffs, defeating Natus Vincere in the Knockout Stage before upsetting Team Heretics in the upper bracket semifinals to secure a spot in VALORANT Champions.
Team Heretics
Team Heretics have been the most consistent team in EMEA with three second place finishes so far, even boasting the region's highest placement in an international tournament. As such, Heretics may well be EMEA's biggest hope in VALORANT Champions.
Heretics started the season strong by finishing second in the EMEA Kickoff behind Karmine Corp. That earned them a spot in Masters Madrid, though they only managed a Top 8 placement there. In Stage 1, they finished third in Group Omega with a 3-2 record before scoring their second runner-up finish of the season after losing to FNATIC in the Stage 1 Playoff grand finals.
In Masters Shanghai, Heretics barely made it out of the Swiss Stage to reach the Playoffs. While they swept China's EDward Gaming in the first round, they were knocked down to the lower bracket in the next round by the Americas' G2 Esports. While Heretics would pull off an incredible lower bracket run, where they swept three-straight opponents including G2 in the lower bracket finals, they fell short in the grand finals against the Pacific's G2 Esports for their third second place finish so far this season.
Despite falling short of a title three times now, Heretics seemed hungry to capture that elusive victory after they finished the Stage 2 Group Stage with a clean 5-0 record and earned a direct bye to the upper bracket semifinals. While they did get upset by Vitality in that match, their consistent performance throughout the season was still good enough to get them to VALORANT Champions.
Now it remains to be seen if Heretics will be able to finally bag a championship as they continue the Stage 2 Playoffs in the lower bracket. If they can manage to do that, then perhaps that momentum can carry them to the only first place finish that really matters at this year's VALORANT Champions.
FUT Esports
FUT Esports have had a rollercoaster season thus far, but they are currently on an upward trajectory as one of EMEA's representatives in VALORANT Champions. Will they end the year on top of the mountain?
FUT stumbled to start the year, failing to make it out of the EMEA Kickoff Group Stage and finishing in 7th-9th place. They then improved in Stage 1, topping Group Omega with a 4-1 record then finishing third in the Playoffs.
Masters Shanghai then saw the team survive the Swiss Stage and qualify for the Playoffs, though they were immediately knocked down to the lower bracket by the Americas' 100 Thieves. While FUT managed to knock out FNATIC in the first round of the lower bracket, they fell to Heretics in the next round to finish in 5th-6th place.
Things looked promising for FUT in Stage 2, where they had a 4-1 record to finish second in the overall standings and receive a bye to the upper bracket semifinals in the Playoffs. While that result did earn them a ticket to South Korea, they could not sit on their laurels as they were knocked down to the lower bracket by Fnatic.
It's still up in the air whether or not FUT can end Stage 2 on a high, but a spot in VALORANT Champions should still give them cause for optimism. They will be a bit of a wildcard in this year's battle for the world championship, but FUT can count on a past world champion in Mehmet "cNed" İpek to tip the scales in their favour.
