After expectations being so high at the start of the year, Heretics didn’t meet those expectations in Kick-Off with a poor performance in the Upper Bracket of EMEA, they are back with a vengeance in Stage 1, promising a Masters Toronto appearance for the young squad.

The series started with an Ace from WO0T who is a player who performed poorly for his standards in kick-off, however, he had a point to prove this series, especially on Haven where he was put onto the Iso, where he shines particularly well

After his great start on Haven, the die was set for Wo0t as he topped the leaderboard at the end of the series with 57 frags across the three maps.

GIANTX took a new leaf in their compositions with tomaszy taking up the solo duelist role over Purp0, which led to them having a poor series with tomaszy going 4/10 in First Bloods to First Deaths ratio, could be nerves showing for the Portuguese international but it also could be something underlying for his poor performance.

As Tejo has become a stand alone agent in VCT right now, it seems that for Heretics, Wo0t has picked up the Tejo duties and is performing to a really high level on this agent.

He will look to involving more Tejo into his game and into Team Heretics’ comps as G2 and DRX have shown that a permanent Tejo player can impact the game to a level where all you need to do is plant the bomb and you have won the round.

ACE TO START THE GAME 🐐 @WootVL #VamosHeretics pic.twitter.com/I2BFXBDaLU

— Heretics Valorant (@HereticsVal) April 3, 2025

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With this win in mind, Heretics will go onto their toughest game of the year, some fans are saying, against Team Vitality. They recently were one of two teams from EMEA to make it to Masters Bangkok alongside Team Liquid where they reach a top 3 finish.

Heretics will look to regain their 2023 form with this series coming up looking to take top spot in Group Alpha alongside FNATIC and send Team Vitality to 1-2 and making their chances for Toronto slimmer than thought.