Guess who's back: Sentinels make changes ahead of VCT Americas Week 7
Sentinels is one of the most hyped organisations in Valorant. Despite their poor performance since 2022, the organisation has been relevant and always put up big numbers. A Sentinels match always leads the viewer count in domestic or international competition. But the same strength in the clout needs to reflect on the server. After making it in VCT Americas, the results from Sentinels have been disappointing. They lost their opening match at VCT LOCK//IN and are currently on the verge of elimination at VCT Americas. With disappointing results, Sentinels have made another move to salvage the season. According to George Geddes, Sentinels have parted ways with Dephh and will play with TenZ for the rest of the season.
Sentinels - An Americas Superteam or a Failed experiment:
Sentinels struggled in 2022 but redeemed themselves at the LCQ with Shroud and Zellsis. After making partnership, they let go of the complete roster, retaining SicK as the sixth man and TenZ as the superstar. The organisation brought in Kaplan from Ghost, Sacy and Pancada from LOUD, Dephh, Zekken, Sykko and Drewspark from XSET. The team works on paper, with world-class talent in each role and an experienced IGL in Dephh. But the results did not attest to that. At LOCK//IN, Fnatic outclassed Sentinels. But Fnatic did the same to multiple other teams making a case for Sentinels.
Sentinels started strong in VCT Americas, winning 2-1 over 100 thieves. With the win, they made a strong opening statement. But they could not follow it up. Despite making changes, they currently stand 2-5 and have a slim chance of making it to the playoffs. They initially brought in Marved and let go of Sykko while TenZ was on break. Now they have decided to let go of Dephh and will be playing with TenZ for the rest of the split.
Making changes to survive:
With Dephh gone, Sacy is most likely to IGL for the team, with Marved as the secondary shot-caller. Zekken would return to the flex role, and TenZ is likely to play the team's Duelist/Operator/Entry role. Sacy and pancada sticking to the roles they are playing in the team. The change does increase the firepower of the roster but making such a big change might yield only a short time. Moreover, pAncada and Marved were two of the best Controller players of 2022. Playing them on the same roster does not make sense.
In the upcoming weeks, Sentinels will face Furia and KRU. KRU has been struggling a lot so that the fixture will be easier for Sentinels. But the Furia game will be tough for Sentinels, making their playoff dreams more difficult. For the rest of the season, The Sentinels roster will be as follows:
- Tyson "TenZ" Ngo
- Bryan "Pancada" Luna
- Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen
- Zachary "Zekken" Patrone
- Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi
Kaplan would continue to be the head coach for the team, with Drewspark as the assistant coach. The new team will face KRU on 15th May for their playoff dreams.
Credits: VCT Americas
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