Sentinels superstar TenZ could leave after 2023 VCT season

During this past offseason, Sentinels built an entirely new VALORANT team around its superstar Tyson “TenZ” Ngo, who opted to stay with the team when it approached him about re-signing.

But while TenZ signed on to the rebuild, it seems that the deadline for success is going to come earlier than anticipated. He only signed a one-year extension with Sentinels through the 2023 VCT season, according to the VCT Global Contract Database (GCD).

All of the new Sentinels additions signed two-year deals, according to the GCD. Zachary “zekken” Patrone, Rory “dephh” Jackson, Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi, Bryan “pANcada” Luna, and coach Don “SyykoNT” Muir are all signed through the 2024 season. Even sixth man Hunter “SicK” Mims signed an extension that keeps him under contract through 2024. But only TenZ’s deal is set to expire at the end of 2023.

This does not mean that TenZ is for sure gone from Sentinels after the 2023 season, only that his current contract will expire at that point. It will then be up to both TenZ and Sentinels to determine whether he returns for the 2024 season. Additionally, it’s not set in stone that the other players signed through 2024 will compete for Sentinels throughout both years since they can still be traded or released during that time.

For what it’s worth, TenZ has high expectations for both himself and the team. In an interview with Sentinels content creator Tarik a few weeks ago, he said that the team feels like “a tournament-winning roster,” and had high praise for new teammate Zekken and new coach Syyko. He also wants to show folks he can be the same caliber of player he was in 2021.

“I think I have a lot more to show,” TenZ told tarik. “The recent results don’t show exactly who I am as a player. Hopefully, I can show the form I was in before.”

TenZ and Sentinels will participate alongside the other 29 partnered VALORANT teams at the VCT 2023 Kickoff event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in February.