VALORANT Masters Shanghai will be without top casting duos.
Two of the most well-known pro VALORANT casting duos will not be attending Masters Shanghai. Brennon “Bren” Hook, Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson, Lauren “Pansy” Scott, and Michael “hypoc” Robins will not be attending.
Hypoc continues to deal with serious health issues, saying he has “not been well” since collapsing while at VALORANT Champions 2023 and having to go to the emergency room. These issues have kept Hypoc out of action for much of the VCT EMEA season so far, prompting desk analyst and former pro Joshua “steel” Nissan to step in and cast with Pansy.
One of the best duos will at least get some well-deserved rest. Photo: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
However, with Hypoc still out and steel engaged for another event, most likely IEM Dallas due to the identical dates and steel’s extensive Counter-Strike experience, Pansy was unable to find “a viable replacement” and will watch from home.
As for Bren and Sideshow, Bren posted yesterday that it was the duo’s personal decision not to go, but added they have “other big plans in the works” and won’t be taking a break during Masters. This was shared alongside an image of the Plat Chat couch, prompting many to speculate that the couch co-streams are returning after a long absence.
During 2021, as Bren and Sideshow were still transitioning from Overwatch League to professional VALORANT, the duo along with other members of the Plat Chat podcast hosted numerous co-streams during international events, including Champions. Fans appreciated the streams for their relaxed atmosphere, on-screen interviews, and sketches between matches. These co-streams also gave birth to the Sideshow curse meme.
These co-streams quickly gained popularity within the community, ushering in a precipitous rise for co-streams, with co-streams like Tarik’s currently outperforming official broadcast channels.
The Plat Chat couch co-streams were put on hold when the duo began full-time commentary work in 2022, but it appears that they may be returning for a limited time.