The Guard will promote Trent to a full-time member of its VALORANT roster, multiple sources tell Dot Esports. The Guard added Trent to the roster as a trial in place of founding member Harrison “psalm” Chang 11 days before the first open qualifier.
Before the open qualifier, Trent was a relatively unknown commodity. He had spent time with the likes of ex-Flickbaiters and Fenrir, but he had not played against top-tier competition. During the first open qualifier, Trent had a 1.26 K/D and 157 ADR, eighth amongst Sova players (minimum 100 rounds played), according to VLR.gg.
Trent’s added firepower elevated The Guard to new heights, beating FaZe, Luminosity, and Knights in an surprising upper bracket run. Although the team fell short against an experienced XSET squad, they remained one game away from qualifying for the group stage of NA Stage One Challengers.
In the lower bracket, they faced Akrew in a win-or-go-home scenario. The Guard did not crack under the pressure, though, as Trent dropped more than 30 kills in a monumental victory. The Guard’s victory over Akrew earned themselves a spot in the group stage of NA Stage One Challengers. They will be joined by XSET, NRG, and Version1, who qualified through the open qualifier, as well as the invited teams of 100 Thieves, Sentinels, Envy, and Cloud9.
The Guard will be back in action on Feb. 11 when the group stage kicks off.
