First usage of Tejo in VCT 2025 turns out to be a bust for NAVI

Tejo arrived to start the new year of VALORANT. And usually, it takes a few weeks or even longer before a new map or Agent gets played in the VALORANT Champions Tour. Well, the latest Initiator was made available immediately. And NAVI in EMEA were the first to use Tejo during VCT 2025.

The Agent was picked by Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov. The veteran IGL was hoping to get one over on Karmine Corp to start VCT EMEA Kickoff 2025, but he usage of Tejo wasn't a prime example of the character's abilities.

Let's lay out the whole story here. NAVI looked great on map one, holding off KC on to win Abyss. Next up was Bind, where KC steamrolled them to a 13:2 round count. NAVI then met KC on Lotus, with the Tejo pick to try and shake things up during their 2025 VCT Kickoff opener.

The team would need to bounce back, and what better way to do so than by surprising the opposition with the new Agent? He has no footage, he hasn't had much practice, and no one probably expected him to be used in an opening Kickoff series.

Well, if you know ANGE1, this was probably not a spur of the moment choice. He and his coaching staff more than likely had a solid plan in place to whip out Tejo on Lotus if they deemed the pick necessary. They clearly did.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out in their favor. Karmine Corp rocked NAVI once more, this time to win the series 2:1 after a 13:6 Lotus. The third map saw ANGE1 net an 8/15/6 KDA. We barely saw Tejo's capabilities on Attack, as NAVI only took one round after halftime.

You can check out the VOD to see Tejo's first bit of action during VCT 2025. Hopefully NAVI doesn't give up on the Agent, and hopefully this showing doesn't discourage other teams. It's always exciting to see new characters put to use, so fingers crossed we see him shine at least once soon.

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