Sentinels were eliminated from the VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier after suffering a heartbreaking 1-2 defeat at the hands of 100 Thieves. This result brought an end to the team’s season.
Despite this, it is highly unlikely that we will have seen the last of the team, especially considering the new franchising model that Riot Games plans to implement in the year 2023.
Even while Sentinels have not yet officially secured a position in the new Americas league, it appears as though they will be the overwhelming favorites to accomplish so.
Given that Shopify Rebellion denounced the selection process as a “popularity contest” when they were rejected, it seems implausible that Riot would not choose the team that is undoubtedly the face of Valorant for its partnered league.
Sentinels surpassed viewership records for North American Valorant with over 608,000 peak concurrent viewers in their first match of the VCT NA LCQ, which they played against The Guard. The match was against The Guard.
But will the same roster be presented to us? Dot Esports has been informed by the newly acquired flex player Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro that he will remain a member of the squad even after the conclusion of the LCQ. Zellsis will compete in the VCT 2023 season for the Sentinels if they are successful in acquiring a partnered slot in the Americas league for that season.
“If franchising is a thing and it’s in LA, there’s a very good chance I will continue to play professional Valorant. Honestly, I don’t think we’ve gotten close to our ceiling because we’ve been at boot camp for two weeks.” said ShahZam on his stream.
The future of Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, on the other hand, is somewhat uncertain. The 28-year-old CS:GO pro turned Twitch superstar returned to pro play for the VCT NA LCQ, although it’s uncertain if he’ll stay with Sentinels or continue competing.
Fans, however, should take solace in the fact that he is still considering the possibility of continuing his career in pro-Valorant if certain requirements are met.
At this point, everything depends on Riot. Even Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan has confessed that he is unsure about what the future holds for the squad. After the conclusion of their most recent game, he commented, “We’ll have to see what teams make franchising and what ones don’t.”
Only one month has passed since the current roster was put together. The other people competing for the LCQ have had significantly more time to practice than you have. This is a team that has the impression that it still has a lot more to give; all that has to happen is for the stars to align so that they can do so.
