Former head coach of Fnatic mini returns to the team as Assistant Coach

After being away from the organization for three months, the former head coach of Fnatic’s Valorant squad, Jacob “mini” Harris makes a return to the organization as the Assistant Coach,

From early 2021 until the end of 2023, Jacob “mini” Harris led Fnatic as their head coach. He oversaw the team’s scouting during his time and was frequently praised for giving chances to relatively unknown players who have the potential to shine on the biggest stage. He added players like Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder, Martin “MAGNUM” Penkov, and Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, and all of them left a lasting impression on the Valorant scene.

Under his leadership, the European teams won many trophies in 2023 including the EMEA Stage 2 Challengers and Superdome 2022. They also made deep runs at VCT Champions 2022 and VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen but an international trophy eluded them until this year.

I’ve been a bit quiet about my decision to drop from Head Coach and I didn’t have anything prepared today, but I’ll do an interview at somepoint!

I would like to make it clear that I am the *assistant* coach and that my job will be to support+enable @Elmapuddy and his vision 🫡

— FNATIC mini (@minijake_) December 22, 2023

 

In 2023, Fnatic reached new heights of success thanks to Mimi’s leadership and Boaster’s excellent IGL performance. The European team was the most consistent team of VCT, securing back-to-back victories at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo and VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo.

The team also dominated the regional league, securing nine consecutive victories during the regular season of the VCT 2023: EMEA League. During the playoffs, Fnatic remained undefeated, expanding their winning streak to 11 matches, which eventually ended when Team Liquid defeated them in the finals.

The team also made an excellent run at the VCT Champions, where they defeated teams like DRX, FUT Esports, ZETA Divison, and emerging Chinese team Bilibili Gaming before getting hammered by LOUD in the lower-bracket semifinals.

Mimi returns to Fnatic after a three-month absence

Following a fourth-place finish at the World Championship, Fnatic declared Head Coach mini’s exit from the team, ending his three-year partnership with IGL Boaster. Fnatic replaced mini with former GenG coach Chris “Elmapuddy” Tebbit, and the team went on to win Red Bull Home Ground #4, extending their winning streak in 2023.

But since Home Ground 4, their only competition with Elmapuddy, FNATIC has not participated in any off-season competition. It seems like the EMEA Kickoff tournament in February of next year will feature the whole lineup of Fnatic in action.

Mini said that he would be working remotely for the splits but would be joining the team for international tournaments like Masters and Champions if they qualify, in response to the question of whether he will be present with the team on international LANs.

While Valorant teams around the world were making roster overhauls, Fnatic only bid farewell to their replacement players during the off-season, making no adjustments to their starting lineup. With Mini’s comeback, the team appears to have an extremely strong squad, and they will probably come out on top the following season.

Header: Riot Games