The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs

North American organization The Guard has chosen to keep its VALORANT roster under contract for the time being, sources told Dot Esports. 

Amid mass layoffs at the company across various sectors such as design, social media, management, and talent, speculation arose in the community yesterday regarding the future of The Guard’s VALORANT roster, Call of Duty team, and Overwatch League franchise, which are owned by parent company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. 

The VALORANT roster, which is set to play next Monday, Feb. 27, in the North American Challengers league, will remain under the organization for now. The most likely outcome is that The Guard will attempt to sell the players in the future, but this remains unclear. 

The Esports Advocate reported today that The Guard’s CoD and OWL teams—the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Los Angeles Gladiators—are set to remain operational too until a buyer is found for both teams.

Many of The Guard’s players are considered some of the hottest prospects in North American VALORANT. During the offseason, Sentinels was one of the teams interested in signing Trent, the team’s most valuable asset, according to sources. The move failed to materialize, however. 

Mass layoffs have become commonplace in the esports industry recently due to market instability and a looming recession. The war in Ukraine has disrupted international trade while investors are pulling out of esports, which is the main source of income for most organizations in the industry.