North American organization NRG are set to continue with the trial of Josh “JoshRT” Lee to coach the VALORANT roster, according to sources close to Upcomer.
JoshRT has been trialling with the roster but the organization has not reached a decision regarding the potential acquisition. While the move is not set in stone and NRG could look for other options, JoshRT is the prime candidate for the position, Upcomer understands.
If the move is completed he is set to replace former coach Chet Singh, who left the organization in April. Chet had spent six months with the roster following the announcement of his signing alongside Damian “daps” Steele last October.
JoshRT has played VALORANT semi-professionally since April 2020 and competed in several tournaments with his ‘Prospects’ roster. In his most recent match on April 2, JoshRT lost to NRG Esports in the VALORANT Champions Tour North America Stage 2: Challengers 1 open qualifier.
NRG failed to qualify for the first international VALORANT tournament, Masters. The upcoming event, set to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, is the most anticipated VALORANT tournament since the inception of its esports division last year. Sentinels and V1 both secured the two qualification slots from North America earlier this month.
NRG had defeated Luminosity, Built by Gamers and Immortals during their tournament run but failed to defeat Cloud9 Blue and Sentinels, the latter of which is considered to be the best team in the region.
Earlier this month Team Liquid and Fnatic secured qualification from Europe, by contrast. There are three slots remaining to complete the ten team tournament from several regions, which is set to begin on May 24 and conclude May 31.
If JoshRT is signed by NRG Esports, he will be joining the following roster with the team:
- Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic
- Sam “s0m” Oh
- Bradley “ANDROID” Fodor
- daps
- Ian “tex” Botsch
Upcomer reached out to NRG Esports for this story but the organization declined to comment at this time.
