Sentinels adds Kanpeki to VALORANT roster

Sentinels have signed Eric “Kanpeki” Xu to replace Jared “Zombs” Gitlin. 

Sentinels entered 2022 eyeing a return to the top of North America, after a lackluster finish to their 2021 VALORNT Champions Tour campaign where they were eliminated in the group stage at Champions. 

Sentinels earned themselves a bye to the North America Stage One group stage, due to their consistent performance in 2021. The group stage began on Feb. 11, where Sentinels was placed in group B alongside Version1, OpTic, Knights, NRG, and Rise. They managed a 3-2 record throughout the group stage with wins over Knights, NRG, and Rise, solidifying themselves a spot in the playoffs. 

In the playoffs, Sentinels struggled to find their footing against The Guard. They were quickly dispatched by The Guard 2-0, sending them to the lower bracket where they faced Version1. Their series against Version1 proved to be closer, but Sentinels were unable to close it out falling 2-1, ending their hopes at Masters Reykjavik. 

Following their elimination from Stage One, Dot Esports reported on April 12 that Zombs was absent from Sentinels practice and that the team was trialing various players in his place. On April 21, Dot Esports named Kanpeki as Zombs’ replacement. During Kanpeki’s tenure with Akrew, they managed to win more than 30 matches in a row. Kanpeki quickly established himself as an up-and-coming flex player in the scene. 

He will now take over the flex role within Sentinels as Hunter “SicK” Mims moves to the controller role. They will make their debut in the Stage Two open qualifiers, which begin on April 28.