Live Sentinels VCT roster news: All reported and confirmed VALORANT moves

After their regional and global VALORANT dominance in 2021, Sentinels were unable to live up to expectations during the 2022 VCT season despite an abundance of star power.

The team that won both of the first two Masters events of 2021 failed to make the playoffs in North America in 2022 and even went winless during NA Stage Two group play. But even as Sentinels’ season started to wind down in 2022, they managed to grab the spotlight yet again and now look to do so once more in 2023 after acquiring partnership status and a spot in the VCT Americas league.

Here’s a look at how Sentinels has approached the end of the 2022 VCT season and the offseason heading into VCT 2023.

Shroud and Zellsis’ short-lived LCQ run

Before the offseason began, Sentinels had two more cards to play before leaving the table, and these moves were all anyone watching could talk about. Just before their run at the NA VCT Last Chance Qualifier, Sentinels picked up streaming mega-star shroud and a rising flex superstar in Zellsis.

Expectations from fans and media were a mix of exceedingly low and high. For a new team playing against the best in NA with little to no practice, the team played fine, but they obviously did not reach Champions. Both Zellsis and shroud were gone from Sentinels by the end of August, and that’s when the real changes began.

XSET’s leadership and rising star join

So many teams like 100T, The Guard, and XSET proved that talent can only get you so far without proper structure and coaching. While these teams lacked the star names that others had, they all far exceeded expectations thanks to the structure that was put in place—and that structure is something Sentinels knew they had to have for 2023.

Their first move came at the top, acquiring coach Don “SyykoNT” Muir from XSET, and also Adam Kaplan from Ghost. The new coach said he would bring in a lot of “foundational elements and playbooks” from XSET, but he also brought in some highly sought-after players in proven IGL Rory “dephh” Jackson and young rising star Zachary “zekken” Patrone.

TenZ stays, but dapr and ShahZaM part ways

In success and failure, Sentinels has always relied on superstar Tyson “TenZ” Ngo. His mechanical prowess and playmaking ability are unquestionable, but his utilization left a lot to be desired. Teams started countering the “TenZ go kill” strategy, and Sentinels never adapted. A structure and team that brings out the best of TenZ would surely go far, and the man himself has said “I think I have a lot more to show.”

Stepping back from the roster are two of the longest-standing members in Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan and Michael “dapr” Gulino. ShahZaM was an excellent IGL and initiator for Sentinels, while dapr provided a ton of consistency in various roles.

World champion additions in Sacy and pANcada from LOUD

Rounding out Sentinels’ starting roster are two reigning world champions in Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi and Bryan “pANcada” Luna from LOUD. LOUD dominated Brazil all year and only stumbled internationally at Masters Copenhagen before closing out the year in style with a dominant run at Champions 2022, ending with a win over year-long rivals OpTic.

What do they bring to Sentinels? The two are an excellent initiator and support duo and exactly the kind of players that a star like TenZ can excel with, evidenced by the exceptional performances put on by former LOUD teammates Less and aspas at Champions. When this team starts to gel, and when they break through the language barrier, there’s a very high ceiling for Sentinels.