N4RRATE Weighed Quitting After Being Released
Rereading Karmine Corp's EMEA Title Through the Words of Four Players, Winners and Losers
This article was machine translated from the Japanese original. Quotes were translated too, so they are not the speaker's exact words. Where anything reads oddly, the Japanese version is authoritative. Read the Japanese original →
N4RRATE ·
VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 2 ended on August 31, and players from champions Karmine Corp, runners-up Team Liquid, and fourth-place Fire Flux Esports gave interviews one after another. What came out was not talk about tactics. N4RRATE said that after leaving Sentinels, they no longer knew whether they wanted to keep competing, and SUYGETSU said not many players deserve a trophy. The comments from Kicks and reazy on the losing side point in the same direction.
N4RRATE Was Unsure About Continuing to Compete Right After Leaving Sentinels
Karmine Corp's N4RRATE gave this answer in a VLR.gg interview published the day after the title win.
"After I was released, I wasn't sure whether I even wanted to keep competing this season"
N4RRATE is from the United States and plays initiator. N4RRATE was on Karmine Corp until 2024, then moved to Sentinels. The stint at Sentinels lasted about 17 months. After finishing 9th-10th at VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff, N4RRATE left and made a return to Karmine Corp. In the grand final, N4RRATE put up 67 kills, the second-highest total behind MVP dos9.
SUYGETSU Said Not Many Players Deserve a Trophy
SUYGETSU, also of Karmine Corp, described what the title means in an interview with THESPIKE.GG.
"Of the players who have lifted a trophy, not many really deserve it. That's why this trophy means a lot to me"
SUYGETSU also touched on how N4RRATE has changed, saying in substance that N4RRATE is a different person now and listens to others. SUYGETSU said the team had expected the crowd at Badalona not to be on their side, and that this is exactly what happened. Negative thoughts are natural during a losing run, SUYGETSU said, and the question is how you face them.
| Player | Team | Stage 2 result | Gist of the quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| N4RRATE | Karmine Corp | 1st | Wasn't sure about continuing to compete after being released |
| SUYGETSU | Karmine Corp | 1st | Not many players deserve a trophy |
| Kicks | Team Liquid | 2nd | We could have played much better on Ascent and Summit |
| reazy | Fire Flux Esports | 4th | We beat strong teams and showed we are one of them |
Kicks of Beaten Team Liquid Named Two Maps
Kicks, whose Team Liquid finished as runners-up, pointed to Ascent and Summit in a VLR.gg interview.
"On Ascent and Summit, we really could have played much better"
Team Liquid dropped those two maps: Ascent 6-13 and Summit 10-13. According to the VLR.gg match page, both were maps Team Liquid picked. On Lotus, picked by Karmine Corp, Team Liquid won 13-7. The day before, they had beaten FUT Esports 3-0 in the lower final, entering the final on an upward trend.
| Map | Score | Team that won it | Side that picked it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset | 13-7 | Karmine Corp | Karmine Corp |
| Ascent | 13-6 | Karmine Corp | Team Liquid |
| Lotus | 7-13 | Team Liquid | Karmine Corp |
| Summit | 13-10 | Karmine Corp | Team Liquid |
reazy of Fire Flux, Fourth Coming Out of Tier 2, Also Spoke About Where the Team Stands
reazy, of fourth-place Fire Flux Esports, said this in an interview with THESPIKE.GG.
"We beat a lot of strong teams and showed that we are one of them"
Fire Flux Esports lost 0-2 to Team Liquid in lower round 3 on August 29 and ended their season there. According to THESPIKE.GG, it is the best result by a Tier 2 roster across all regions. On the loss, reazy said it stings but is not bad, adding that everyone improved this year, so 2027 will be a good year.
Karmine Corp Won Out a Season That Started 0-5
Karmine Corp's Stage 1 was 0-5 and 11th-12th place. In Stage 2, the team topped Group Omega at 4-1 and went 3-0 through the playoffs. N4RRATE's comment about being unsure whether to keep competing comes from someone who lived through that swing from the inside.
| Stage | Record |
|---|---|
| EMEA Stage 1 | 0-5, 11th-12th |
| EMEA Stage 2 group (Omega) | 4-1, first place |
| EMEA Stage 2 playoffs | 3-0, champions |
All Four Quotes Are About Where the Speaker Stands
What was said in Badalona this week is not about compositions or mid-round calls. N4RRATE spoke about the fact of being released, SUYGETSU about whether a player deserves a trophy, Kicks about the level their team could have reached, and reazy about being a Tier 2 side. Winners and losers talked about almost the same thing.
This is how this article arranges four separate interviews, and none of the sources presents it this way. Note that the VLR.gg pieces on N4RRATE and Kicks, as of this writing, publish only the headline quote, with a note that the full text will be added later.
✍️ This is an original article by VALOPEDIA Editorial Team.
