Out of all the huge roster motion coming to VALORANT within the 2023-24 offseason, surprisingly sufficient, it’s the favored Sentinels that’s staying comparatively chill heading into the second yr of franchising, making a quietly strong transfer with a brand new IGL pickup.
Former M80 IGL Mouhamed “johnqt” Ouarid has formally signed with Sentinels at this time, marking the staff’s second announcement of the offseason after extending Tyson “TenZ” Ngo. After making his rise via the tier-two VALORANT scene with profitable stunts on each Ghost Gaming and M80, this marks johnqt’s first time enjoying for a franchised VALORANT staff.
https://x.com/Sentinels/standing/1702026990575042966?s=20
Off the bat, this signing addresses a major problem that Sentinels had all all through their 2023 season: the necessity for an IGL who works with the squad. Heading into their first franchised yr, Sentinels’ unique IGL was Rory “dephh” Jackson, previously of XSET who joined Sentinels alongside his teammate Zachary “zekken” Patrone. Regardless of having a gifted roster, Sentinels’ points got here to gentle when the meta shifted to favor double-controller compositions. The staff dropped within the standings, resulting in many roster strikes.
Dephh was launched, Marved was picked up, after which Sentinels’ newest signing was given the IGL function regardless of the restricted expertise on it. It was a bit chaotic, to say the least, however the staff did enhance barely because the season ended despite the fact that they weren’t in a position to qualify for Champions 2023. Nonetheless, the staff knew what wanted to alter. This signing is a key instance of that, selecting up a really versatile participant who can IGL groups to victory, particularly as he did with M80 in 2023.
Johnqt’s capacity to play the sentinel function, play each controllers or initiators if wanted, and lead a staff on the high degree is precisely what a staff like Sentinels wanted heading into 2024. Their staff nonetheless has among the finest controllers on this planet with former champion Bryan “pANcada” Luna, and now they gained’t should drive him on different roles to suit a meta. Plus, with maps like Sundown and Breeze coming again into the rotation, double controller setups are beginning to sneak again into the meta on some maps, which means this signing not solely improves Sentinels’ management but in addition common function selection for the squad.
As of this signing, it seems to be like Sentinels has a possible roster to run with for 2024, with minimal adjustments from final yr. TenZ is staying and so are zekken and the 2 Brazilians. Now, with johnqt, Sentinels has a beginning roster with a great quantity of flexibility.
- TenZ (duelist/flex)
- Zekken (duelist)
- Sacy (initiator)
- pANcada (controller)
- Johnqt (sentinel/flex/IGL)
Particularly contemplating how a lot different rosters in VCT Americas are going via main shakeups, Sentinels are sticking with 4 gamers from final yr and their new chief is aiming to make the distinction and return them to the highest of the area subsequent yr.
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