American player Caide "chloric" Heaton has reached a verbal agreement to join the Team Heretics Valorant roster as their in-game leader for the 2027 VCT season. His contract with Natus Vincere expires at the end of the year, after which he will leave the organization. According to sources, the Spanish team also considered players like Boaster, Rosé, starxo, and batujnax for this role, but chloric became the priority choice.
Joining him at Heretics is another former NAVI player—Turkish Sentinel Emirhan "hiro" Kat. Both esports athletes played for Natus Vincere throughout 2026, and their shared run in VCT EMEA Stage 2 ended with an elimination in the Play-In stage following a defeat to Team Heretics.
In addition to signing the newcomers, the Spanish organization is retaining two key players from its current roster: Benjamin "benjyfishy" Fish and Enes "RieNs" Ecirli. The latter recently extended his contract through 2028. It is worth noting that with RieNs and the American chloric on the squad, the team exhausts its import limit for its 2027 project.
These roster changes are the result of the team's inconsistent performances. After securing the championship at VCT EMEA Stage 1, Team Heretics failed to replicate that success in the second stage: the team missed the playoffs and was eliminated in the Play-In by VALORANT Eintracht Frankfurt. Ultimately, they fell short on championship points to qualify for the main tournament of the year—VALORANT Champions 2026.
The roster restructuring takes place against the backdrop of a global update to the VCT EMEA format. Starting with the 2027 season, the league will consist of 8 partnered teams, with the remaining 4 spots to be decided through open qualifiers across Europe, Turkey, and the MENA sub-region. This creates a new competitive landscape where timely and effective roster building becomes critical for a successful run in the revamped league.
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