After almost three years with British organization Fnatic, Valorant star Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov has decided to move on from the team and join Vitality.

Chronicle will link back up with former Fnatic teammate Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev on his new team, and will now be looked at as a focal point of their roster as the French organization attempts to become a powerhouse in Valorant like they have in other esports.

That said, Vitality are far from a powerhouse currently, having qualified for only one VCT Masters event in 2025. Chronicle may be a blockbuster signing that could see them consistently reach these events, but given that he’s leaving Fnatic, a team consistently placing at the very top, it’s hard to look at this move as anything but a mistake for Chronicle.

Chronicle’s Massive Mistake

In Chronicle’s three years on Fnatic, they have arguably been the most consistently competitive team in the world. They may not have always been the best team — they only won VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Sao Paulo and VCT Masters Tokyo 2023 in that time — but 2025 saw them finish as runners up on three occasions.

At any given point in time, it’s fair to say they are closest to winning the next Valorant Champions event due to that consistency.

Fnatic’s hopes of finally winning a Champions event after coming agonisingly close in 2025 also received a huge boost in the past month, their captain Jake “Boaster” Howlett signed a new contract after rumours of potential retirement.

With Fnatic’s system secured and the firepower they hold, was it therefore not a smarter decision to stick by the team, rather than to try his luck with a team that can barely even qualify for the LANs?

VITALITY CHRONICLE IS REAL.

We've already won the off-season 😎 pic.twitter.com/oMOChRCiDZ

— Team Vitality VALORANT (@TeamVitalityVAL) October 25, 2025

Champions, which Fnatic lost 3–2 after coming close to a reverse sweep against NRG, isn’t even the first time that Chronicle has come within touching distance of Valorant’s biggest prize. He lost another Grand Final, 3-2, to Ascend while still a member of Gambit. 

With that in mind, and considering that Chronicle is heralded as one of the greatest players in the game’s history, this also becomes a question of legacy. Valorant’s history may still be short, but we’re fast approaching the point where all that matters will be if you managed to lift the big one or not, and it’s undeniable that joining Vitality is a step backwards in that respect. 

Of course, Chronicle could be the first step in a rebuild as Vitality looks to build a superteam. They do now have a solid foundation in him and Derke, but given that Chronicle’s move was heavily rumoured and there are currently no other rumours about Vitality, this feels unlikely.

This is all to say that Chronicle is taking a huge risk with this move. Fnatic’s lineup was on the cusp of greatness, just maps and rounds away from having a level of dominance that has never been seen before on a global scale. Success isn’t ruled out on his new team, but it’s much further away, and that could be something that soon becomes painfully clear.