Stage 2 of the VALORANT Champions Tour is coming to a head soon with Masters 2 on May 24. Teams that have failed to make it to the major qualifier, and some who are in the process, are shuffling players around to retool for Stage 3.
The biggest of these moves is Cloud9 and their Counter-Strike team pillage, adding Ricky “floppy” Kemery and Erick “Xeppaa” Bach from their CS:GO team. Then there are teams like Gen.G and Version1, who have made small changes in the past two weeks. In Europe, there are reports of G2 roster changes as they failed to qualify for Challengers Playoffs.
Reports: incoming G2 roster moves
VALORANT: G2 to undergo mass revamping. Aiming at Heretics and Acend players. Here is my report.https://t.co/g6VlxhbDPE
— neL (@neLendirekt) April 24, 2021
The early kings of the European VALORANT scene are due for roster changes according to Guillaume “NeLendirekt” Rathier. G2, reportedly, could bench Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks, Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski and Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt for new talent. The team is looking at rosters for Team Heretics and Acend for player acquisitions. Both teams perform well, and with better recent results than G2, but nothing is set in stone as of yet.
G2 have lacked a true in-game leader since the team’s inception and they may be looking for one now. The players that they are allegedly courting are Acend’s IGL Luis “koldamenta” Aranguren and former Cloud9 Counter-Strike IGL Alex “ALEX” McMeekin.
Cloud9 add new players
Cloud9 announced the signing of floppy and Xeppa just days before its Challengers 2 run. The team has gone through many iterations since the game’s beta, but this may be their most robust entry. The team dropped Relyks on April 16, with the addition of floppy. The two players were up-and-coming in the North American CS:GO community, with top placements at the second tier level and a decent showing in the first.
This one's no imposter ඞ
We're excited to announce that @floppyCSGO has joined #C9BLUE! pic.twitter.com/KwMH6X52Gr
— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) April 19, 2021
At Challengers 2, the team did not drop a map in their journey to the grand final. They locked in their spot at Challengers Finals for a chance at Masters 2 with relative ease. Once in the finals however, Sentinels, from the losers bracket, outclassed them 3-0. In the event, floppy stuck mainly to Omen, which freed up Mitch “mitch” Semago and Nathan “leaf” Orf to play their comfort roles.
Version1 and Gen.G moves
For non-blockbuster roster moves, Version1 and Gen.G have undergone slight changes. Gen.G benched Danny “huynh” Huynh on April 22. One of the original members of the team from the beta, huynh was an integral part to their early success. The Jett main could carry a game with his Operator play, but he could also disappear in big games. In his last game with the team, he put up 16 kills across two maps in a loss to TSM in the Challengers 2 Open Qualifier.
As of today, @HUYNH_CS is benched from the #GenGVAL starting roster.
Everyone, continue to show your love and support for Huynh as he’s been an integral part of our roster since the beta. From winning our first tournament to now, we appreciate all that you’ve done for us! 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/QKlRrHf3JV
— Gen.G Esports (@GenG) April 22, 2021
Version1, one of the first teams to qualify for Challengers Finals, have made moves as well. Their resident Sentinel main Keven “PLAYER1” Champagne stepped down on April 16 for personal reasons. As an original fixture of the roster, PLAYER1’s replacement has been rumored but not confirmed as of yet. According to Rush B Media’s Ryan Friend, Maxim “wippie” Shepelev will take the open spot.
🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/f2jWLuX425
— wippie (@wippiecs) April 13, 2021
Version1, along with Cloud9, will compete for a shot at Masters 2 starting on April 29.
