After an extensive period of searching and trialing, G2 has found its dynamic duelist who will join the recently signed squad of ex-The Guard players for the 2024 VALORANT season in VCT Americas.
Nathan “leaf” Orf, former superstar duelist for Cloud9, will join G2 and take on the primary duelist entry role for the team that just won Ascension, the org announced today.
With the move, G2’s starting lineup for the 2024 VCT Americas team is now set. The organization pounced on the opportunity to sign The Guard’s players after Riot permitted them to court offers from various teams following their release from their previous org. G2 CEO Alban Dechelotte told Dot Esports that G2 beat out “roughly 17” organizations that were vying to pick up the players, though others have claimed that number is even higher.
When Dechelotte spoke to Dot Esports on Sept. 22, he said the organization was “still deciding” on its fifth in the midst of a “special offseason.” In just the duelist category alone, and just from VCT Americas talent, duelists like jawgemo, leaf, aspas, yay, and Demon1 were all potentially on the table at the time of Dechelotte’s statement.
Leaf joins the G2 roster after a three-year odyssey with C9 that featured numerous roster moves, an international event appearance at Champions 2021, but also several instances where the team stumbled at the finish line, just shy of qualifying for even more international tournaments.
C9 has brought back a familiar face in in-game leader Anthony “vanity” Malaspina and is coincidentally relying on a potential breakout star who played for G2 last year to step in and take on leaf’s duties: Francis “OXY” Hoang. While C9 has already played during the offseason, leaf and G2 will make their debut on Thursday, Oct. 26 in a showmatch against Sentinels.
