TH Wo0t on staying competitive in Tier 1: “Many players get washed out, I can’t let that be me”

Team Heretics (TH) have returned to the VCT EMEA Kickoff stage, but not the way they had hoped for. Following a difficult matchup against NAVI, the team fell short of securing its first win of the tournament. In an interview with esports.gg, Mert “Wo0t” Alkan discussed what went wrong in the series, the rise of Turkey as a talent factory for the EMEA region, and Team Heretics’ iconic pink era.

NAVI has been proving to be a hard challenge in this VCT EMEA: Kickoff stage. While many doubted their ability to maintain momentum against stronger opponents, they proved everyone wrong. Team Heretics arrived with fresh energy, but that was not enough to take down the yellow and black wall.

"We started slow, and we couldn't find the solution to their strategy, especially in the 1-8. We were in shock," TH Wo0t explained. "At some point, in Split, when we were 9-3 and lost the pistol rounds, our performance declined. We lost the game because we lost five out of six pistols today."

For Wo0t, pistol rounds are clearly one of the main areas the team needs to improve moving forward. According to the player, a large part of a team’s confidence and momentum comes from winning pistols, something Team Heretics were unable to do today.

Uğur “Ruxic” Güç proved to be one of the biggest threats in the series. “He can be in any position. He’s so unpredictable. You always have to expect the unexpected from him, and we couldn’t do that,” Wo0t explained. “Ruxic played really well this series.”

Turkish players have been dominating the region. In 2026, 24 Turkish players are competing, with Polish players being the next most represented nationality at just nine. For Wo0t, Turkey has been a "talent factory" for a while now, since there are many incredible players in lower teams who cannot play in Tier 1 due to their age.

"There are many talented people who grind so much in ranked and are actually good. They might not be playing professionally now, but they will in two or three years. They might not be superstars right at the beginning, but they will be great in the future," Wo0t added.

Speaking of Turkish talent, Berkcan "ComeBack" Şentürk just joined the Heretics roster after a season in Gentle Mates. The team has now been showing a double-duelist composition, with ComeBack in either Neon or Raze and Wo0t in Yoru. However, Wo0t was not a Yoru player himself, and mastering the agent has been a challenge.

"I wasn't a Yoru player before, so I don't have much experience in official matches," TH Wo0t explained. "It has been hard for me to get used to so many things at the same time. Miniboo was playing before, and he was really good because he started to play when he was in meta. I'm learning slowly, it's fun, but it is hard to keep everything on track."

Even after suffering their first loss of the season, Team Heretics and Wo0t still have two paths to qualify for Masters Santiago. Whether through the Upper or Lower bracket, Wo0t is determined to reach the international stage once again.

“It would mean a lot to me. So many players get washed out in Tier 1, and I don’t want that to happen to me. Nowadays, everyone is incredibly talented, and every opponent is strong, so we can’t afford to underestimate anyone,” he added.

Qualifying for Masters Santiago is one of his goals, but reaching the Champions stage in Shanghai would be the ultimate achievement, especially since TH Wo0t is a big fan of the city. "It's my favorite part of this year," he laughed.

The team gave us an iconic pink jersey at VALORANT Champions 2025, and this year, pink remained the signature color of Team Heretics’ bundle, extending to almost everything, including their offices. While the pink jersey might not come back anytime soon, the pink combo came to stay.

"It is a good color, and it matches our colors. Some people say it's too girly, but I don't care. Everyone likes it, and I like it too," TH Wo0t said.

If you are a fan of the bundle, Riot Games has already released all 2026 team capsules. Check out all the teams and choose your favorites!