According to Ryan Friend’s Rush B Media report, TSM Esports is pursuing Braxton “brax” Pierce to create a six-man roster.
This report comes after the Valorant community and influencers noticed that TSM teammate, James “Hazed” Cobb, has not been taking part in scrims and has yet to be benched.
Brax’s Valorant history
On March 9, 2020, brax announced that he joined the Valorant team, T1, as “their first Tactical FPS player ever.” However, after T1 and brax won the Twitch Rivals sports tournament in June of 2020, they failed to perform. T1 then released brax and Keven “AZK” Larivière and signed Rahul “curry” Nemani.
If brax were to join TSM
While TSM has a strong roster, they have had trouble placing in tournaments. After winning the Pittsburgh Knights Invitational Gauntlet Series and placing second at First Strike North America, TSM struggled in the Champions Tour and was eliminated by 100 Thieves. While some pro players struggle to have an impact, brax excels at being a consistent fragger. If brax were to join TSM, the team would instantly receive a big boost in firepower.
Six-man rosters
While six-man rosters are relatively new in Valorant, several professional Counter-Strike teams have been trying the system. Counter-Strike pro, Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen, stated that “Six-man rosters pressure everyone into performing better.” While Valve shut down six-man rosters in Counter-Strike, Vitality used their six-man roster to great success while they were around.
In Valorant, a six-man roster would create an entirely new team composition of characters. With six people on a team, players have the ability to take a break if necessary. The opponent may also have a tougher time preparing for matches because they can’t predict who they’ll be up against.
Ultimately, it is unknown whether brax is entertaining the idea of joining TSM. In fact, Friend’s report states that brax revealed on stream that several teams are attempting to sign him. He hasn’t made any decision as of yet about joining a team.
