Team Heretics are set to add Emirhan “hiro” Kat to their VALORANT roster, according to a report from Sheep Esports.
Neither Team Heretics nor hiro had officially announced the move at the time of writing. No contract length, transfer fee, or debut date has been disclosed, and it’s unclear whether the deal is signed, verbal, or still being finalized.
Hiro is a Turkish pro who came up through the EMEA scene and built his name as a young, flexible player who fits into structured systems.
His big break came in 2024, when Fnatic brought him in to cover for Leo “Leo” Jannesson, who stepped away due to health issues. Hiro was thrown into one of the most demanding rosters in the world and delivered.
Fnatic won VCT 2024 EMEA Stage two with him in the lineup, and he went on to play at VALORANT Champions 2024. Notably, it was Heretics who knocked Fnatic out of that event, so some of his possible new teammates already know what he looks like on the other side of the server.
While most of the talk around hiro focuses on sentinel play, his Fnatic run also involved supportive and initiator duties. That flexibility matters here.
Heretics still face major role and leadership questions
Heretics were the breakout story of 2024, reaching the finals at Masters Madrid, Masters Shanghai, and VALORANT Champions. They lost all three, which fans haven’t let them forget.
That run was built on young talent, with benjyfishy, Mert “Wo0t” Alkan, Enes “RieNs” Ecirli, and Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius developing fast under the guidance of veteran IGL Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius. Results since then have been far less consistent, and the org is now clearly reshaping the roster.
The obvious wrinkle is role overlap. Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish has spent most of his Tier one career on sentinels, and so has hiro. Only five players start a match, so someone moves.
The popular theory is that benjyfishy shifts to a flex or secondary duelist spot, with hiro taking over sentinel duties. Fans have pointed to benjyfishy’s recent ranked games on Phoenix, Yoru, and Raze as evidence, though pros mess around with agents in ranked all the time. Nothing about his role has been confirmed.
The other option is that hiro plays outside sentinel entirely, leaning on the initiator work he did at Fnatic.
The IGL chair is still empty
The biggest unanswered question is who calls the shots. Heretics haven’t announced an in-game leader, nor have they confirmed who’s staying and who’s leaving. Primary duelist duties and the controller slot are equally unclear.
In other words, hiro looks like one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Heretics will need to make more moves before anyone knows what their starting five actually looks like.
