Team Vitality have confirmed that Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev is leaving their VALORANT roster after two seasons. The French organisation announced the move in a farewell video on X, calling the Finnish duelist "the player who helped shape Vitality's legacy."
Derke joined Vitality in October 2024. He had previously spent four years at FNATIC, where he won LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo in 2023, according to the report.
The 2025 season went poorly, the report says. Vitality took fourth place at Masters Bangkok, then lost in the top eight of both EMEA regional stages and did not reach another international event that year, citing VLR.gg.
The 2026 roster improved. Vitality finished runner-up in Stage 1 and fourth at Masters London. The team then reached the grand final of Champions Shanghai, where it lost 3-1 to LOUD. The report notes that Vitality won a victory over LOUD earlier in the event.
Vitality now has four players under contract for 2027: Jamppi, PROFEK, Chronicle and Sayonara. The club has been confirmed as a VCT partnered team for 2027. Neither the club nor Derke has said where he will play next. Many VCT contracts expire on November 2.