BBL Esports adds Magnum to VALORANT roster

There's less than a week until VCT 2025 - EMEA Stage 1 will begin, marking the start of the journey for 12 of the best teams in EMEA towards VCT 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025. This means that all of the teams will be battling tooth and nail for supremacy as they strive to finish as one of the top three teams in the league and will be making necessary changes to ensure their success.

Adding experience to the arsenal

For example, BBL Esports has signed on former Karmine Corp member Martin "MAGNUM" Penkov to the roster for Stage One. Magnum has been on Karmine Corp's inactive roster since Sept. 2024, and last played on-stage during VCT 2024 - EMEA Stage 2, where Karmine Corp finished in out of the top four after losing to Fnatic in the knockout round.

Magnum has played for multiple top-tier organizations throughout his career, including Fnatic and Movistar KOI. He has attended a handful of international events including VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík, VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021, and VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík. Although he has been out of action for a few months, he should still be a serviceable addition to this inexperienced roster, since most of the players on the lineup haven't competed in an international event yet, save for Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen.

Unfortunate visa issues

According to a statement released by BBL Esports' general manager and VALORANT manager, this move was made due to the ongoing visa issues the team has with Egor "chiwa" Stepanyuk. The organization is still supporting Chiwa, and has even provided all the necessary documents and additional paperwork to expedite the process, but there is no timeline as to when he will be able to join the team. As a result, Magnum has been added because he "complements [their] existing system" without having to rebuild from scratch.

Chiwa, on the other hand, will be moved to the bench and will continue as the roster's sixth man, until his visa issues are resolved. The 27-year-old has expressed that the situation was a "nightmare" for him, but he will continue to support the team from the sidelines.

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