Since the formation of the professional VALORANT scene, TSM has fallen from its place at the top. Now, the team has a new roster and coach to springboard them to new heights for VCT Stage 3.
The VCT Stage 3 North America begins Thursday, July 1 with the Challengers open qualifier. These qualifiers will determine which teams move on to the main event and which have a better chance at making it to Masters 3 in Berlin.
In the offseason, TSM replaced their former coach Taylor “Tailored” Broomall with NRG Esports head coach Chet “Chet” Singh. Both Chet and TSM had varied success in VALORANT with their teams. NRG Esports performed well but were never at the top alongside teams like Envy and Sentinels. TSM, on the other hand, never fully recovered after placing second at First Strike North America to 100 Thieves. After First Strike, the team failed to qualify for the main events for Stage 1 and 2, missing out on both Masters events for VALORANT.
TSM attempts six-man roster, adds bang before VCT Stage 3
Before Masters 2: Reykjavík, TSM attempted a six-man roster with former T1 player Braxton “brax” Pierce. Brax played one game with TSM during the Stage 2 qualifier but didn’t do much else for the team. The six-man roster failed to work out for TSM, who eventually released brax and acquired amateur player Sean “bang” Bezerra.
😈 @bangzerra pic.twitter.com/t1s67DLAoJ
— TSM (@TSM) June 29, 2021
In addition to releasing brax and adding bang to the roster, TSM also released former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran Stephen “Cutler” Cutler. With a new member on the roster, and now with a new coach running the show, TSM is a force to be reckoned with.
They began picking things up towards the end of Stage 2, before their run was cut short by Immortals. With a new team, TSM should have a new will to perform during VCT Stage 3 to potentially make it to Masters 3 in Berlin.
