BENJYFISHY looks back on Team Heretics' tough 2026 and looks forward to the VCT changes

Benjy "BENJYFISHY" Fish, one of the most recognisable faces of Team Heretics in Valorant, has spoken openly about his team's 2026 season, a year he himself describes as difficult. As reported by Dexerto, the player does not dodge the negative assessment of the campaign, but he does not stop at complaining either: he looks ahead and focuses on two things, the changes coming to the competitive structure of the VCT and the work he intends to put in during the off-season break.

A player from such a high-profile club publicly admitting that the season did not go as expected is no small thing. Team Heretics is one of the most closely followed projects in the Spanish-speaking and European scene, and any signal about their mood, their approach to the next campaign or their reading of Riot's new format shapes how the community perceives the team's future. For us, it is also a window into how a professional thinks when things are not going well.

What you need to know

• BENJYFISHY describes Team Heretics' 2026 season as a difficult period and does not shy away from talking about it.
• The player is excited about the changes coming to the VCT, especially because he believes they will give visibility to other teams that have so far remained in the background.
• His plan for the off-season break is to keep practising rather than fully disconnecting from the game.
• The underlying information comes from an interview published by Dexerto.

A difficult year he is not hiding from

The first thing that stands out in BENJYFISHY's comments is the tone. There are no excuses and no attempts to sugar-coat the outcome. The player himself accepts that 2026 has been a tough year for Team Heretics, and that acknowledgement is, in itself, a statement of intent. In an environment where many players prefer to hide behind generic messages, hearing him speak so plainly about the slump is refreshing.

For a team with the exposure Heretics has, a season like this weighs twice as much. The fans expect results, the sponsors expect visibility and the roster has to deal with the pressure of constantly being in the spotlight. That BENJYFISHY addresses it head-on suggests that there is awareness of the problem within the team, and that is usually the first step towards fixing it.

The VCT changes and the spotlight on other teams

The second major part of the interview revolves around the changes Riot Games is introducing to Valorant's competitive circuit. According to Dexerto, BENJYFISHY views these changes favourably, and his reasoning is interesting: he believes they will allow other teams, not just the usual big names, to have their moment in the spotlight.

It is an unusual take coming from a player at an organisation that already attracts more than enough attention. It could be read as generosity, as fatigue with the noise surrounding high-profile teams, or simply as a pragmatic view of what the scene needs in order to grow. Either way, it is an opinion that ties into a recurring complaint in the community: the feeling that Valorant's competitive narrative is concentrated in very few organisations.

Finally, the player talks about the off-season break. Far from treating it as a complete holiday, BENJYFISHY describes it as a period to keep polishing his game. It is the classic mindset of a competitor who understands that the difference is made when nobody is watching.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz editorial team we really value BENJYFISHY's honesty, but we also want to be fair: acknowledging a bad year is the bare minimum you can ask of a professional at his level. What really matters is what comes next. Team Heretics has resources, a brand and a huge fan base; if the 2026 season has been as difficult as he himself admits, the responsibility cannot rest solely on the players' mindset. The organisation needs to review its structure, planning and decision-making with the same self-critical spirit.

As for the VCT changes, we share his optimism, with some caveats. A format that opens the door to more teams is good news for Valorant's competitive health and, above all, for content creators and up-and-coming teams that currently struggle to find a place in the conversation. But a format change does not hand out the spotlight on its own: it takes storylines, rivalries and results to sustain it. If the smaller teams do not make the most of the window, the focus will be back on the usual names within a matter of months.

And regarding the attitude of continuing to practise during the break, that is the message we would most like to sink in with any competitive player, whether professional or amateur. Rest is necessary, but those who understand that the next season starts the moment the previous one ends usually have the edge when competition returns.

What do you think?

BENJYFISHY's reflections leave several questions open: whether Team Heretics can turn a difficult year around and whether the VCT changes will truly make room for new protagonists. Let us know in the team chat or on our Discord: do you think Heretics will get back to their best next season, or is a deeper change of direction needed?