After Team Vitality’s victory in the first round of the Swiss stage at VALORANT Masters London 2026, Ștefan “Sayonara” Mîtcu gave an interview to Sheep Esports. During the conversation, the Team Vitality rookie spoke about his first international win, the pressure of playing on stage, the lessons from the VCT EMEA Stage 1 Grand Final, the level of Chinese teams, EMEA’s strength as a region, and the team he wants to face the most at the tournament.
A confident first step on the international stage
Sayonara opened the interview by sharing his first emotions after the match. The player described the result as a strong performance from Team Vitality and said he was proud of both himself and the team.
Very happy. I'm proud of the team, proud of myself and nothing much to say, it was just a very good game by us.
The player was then asked about the difference between his first VCT EMEA game and his first international appearance. Sayonara highlighted the scale of the stage in London and the atmosphere created by the fans.
Just like last time, I am proud of myself, but also the stage here is incredible. The fans are incredible so it was a much more memorable experience here. But I'm still proud of both games, my debut on the regional and international stage.
Pressure and routine
Speaking about pressure, Sayonara said that he feels it, but it does not affect his performance when he follows his routine and stays consistent with his approach.
No, if I do my routine and I stick to what I believe, I don't crack under pressure. I feel it but it doesn't affect me. So I just go into the game with the same consistency, with the same stuff, and pressure will never do anything.
Team Vitality’s preparation after Stage 1
The conversation then moved to Team Vitality’s preparation after the end of VCT EMEA Stage 1. Sayonara explained that the team focused mainly on its own weaknesses and on adding more depth to its playbook.
We fixed our gaps and added more depth to our playbook and we've been focusing on ourselves. We didn't really care what the enemy would bring, we just wanted to be better than what we were in the past. It's going well, we need to keep going and go back to the practice room and keep fixing stuff but overall I can see improvement and I'm happy.
Lessons from the VCT EMEA Grand Final
Sayonara was also asked what Team Vitality lacked in the VCT EMEA Stage 1 Grand Final. The player admitted that he still partly blames himself for the defeat, even though the team treats wins and losses as a shared responsibility.
Well, my team doesn't like when I say this, but I do believe it was a bit of my fault. They always say it's a team game, we lose together, we win together and I agree, we did lose that game together. But that match was a bit of my fault. I was overthinking about it, and I let the pressure get to me. And that's why I was a bit shaky. We also did mess up some things overall as a team, but that we are fixing right now, and that’s good. In that final, if I had been myself, there is no chance we wouldn’t have win.
Sayonara on DRG and Chinese teams
When discussing Dragon Ranger Gaming and the level of Chinese teams, Sayonara said the score did not fully reflect the opponent’s strength. According to him, DRG can be dangerous if they are allowed to dictate the pace of the game.
To be fair, the score doesn't show how strong they are. I do believe DRG is not a bad team. If you let them play their game and you let them dictate you, they are a tough opponent. That's why it was good today that we were dictating the pace, but I think if you let them get in your face and let them do what they want, they're a very annoying team to play against and they can for sure pull an upset. Just like the last game of NRG and XLG, I think during this game, there was a big potential for an upset.
He continued by saying that Chinese teams have a unique style, but need to focus more on their own game instead of adapting too much to opponents.
For the Chinese teams, they just need to figure out how to play their game more and not to focus on the enemy. I think that's a bit of a problem for them, but when they play their game, they are very annoying opponents to play against. It's a very unique play style that you don't play against every single day, so a surprise is possible for sure, I think that they'll bounce back.
We are not a weak region
One of the key topics of the interview was the difference between EMEA and other regions. Sayonara said that EMEA’s issue is not a lack of quality, but the fact that teams sometimes fail to play their own game under pressure at international events.
I've said this for a long time, I think EMEA's biggest problem is that they don't play their game in the international competition. I think we sent good teams last year, even in 2024. The teams are good, but they crumble under pressure in international games and I think that's the problem. We are not a weak region. We are capable of winning, capable of playing against all play styles. We just need to figure out how to play our game more against other teams and not let them dictate it with a different or unique playstyle or something that we’ve never seen before. So I think EMEA is a strong region. It competes with every single other region. We just need to be a bit better under pressure and focus more on ourselves than the enemy.
EMEA representatives at Masters London
Sayonara was also asked whether the teams representing EMEA at Masters London are capable of showing that level. He mentioned Team Heretics and FUT Esports, noting both their strengths and possible challenges.
I believe so. I think Team Heretics will get a little bit affected by the Neon’s nerf, but they are still a strong team. They're still a team that made four finals. They're undoubtedly a contender. And I think FUT Esports have that unique play style in them. If they get to play their game, I think they are capable of pulling through, maybe getting a playoffs qualification. I think the teams that we've sent right now are strong and are all capable of pulling a good game and at least going top four, top eight for sure.
A possible rematch against G2
When asked which team he wants to play against the most, Sayonara gave a direct answer. The player named G2 Esports and recalled his previous meeting with them at Red Bull Home Ground.
“I have a classic answer but G2. I still remember the game I played against them in Red Bull Home Ground (with Fnatic, where Sayonara lost in the final against G2). I still want my revenge, and I will get my revenge.”
The conditions for Team Vitality to win Masters
At the end of the interview, Sayonara explained what Team Vitality need to do to win Masters London. He said the team has to stay loose, enjoy the stage, focus on itself and keep the same vision in the server.
Every single team is different, but for us, it is more about having fun, letting loose a little bit on the stage, focusing on ourselves and also just as the famous saying goes, “stick to the plan”. We need to have the same vision together and play on the same page. So I think if we loosen up and play our game, there is no one that can go in between us.
Sayonara also added that Team Vitality struggles most when close games make the team angry and uncertain. According to him, the roster performs best when it ignores outside pressure and plays freely.
Yes, for sure I think when the game gets very tied, we get quite angry and we don't know what to do, that's when we play our worst. I think that's what happened a little bit in the Grand Final. But when we let loose, we have fun and we ignore whatever is going on around us. I think that's when we're at our best.
VALORANT Masters London 2026 is taking place from June 6 to June 21 in London. The event features 12 teams competing for a prize pool of $1,000,000, with the strongest teams of the 2026 VCT season fighting for one of the year’s major international trophies.
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