Sentinels’ VALORANT season in 2023 is over, despite a strong start in the VCT Americas LCQ with a win over 100 Thieves. Losses to Cloud9 and Leviatán ended their run.
Fans are already looking ahead to the offseason and what Sentinels can bring to the table next year after a chaotic first year in partnership. One player stands out as a potential addition, according to VCT Americas’ analysts from the Plat Chat VALORANT podcast.
Related: VCT Americas LCQ 2023 scores, schedule, and format
Mouhamed “johnqt” Ouarid, the in-game leader and sentinel player for M80, received high praise from the analysts. The M80 roster narrowly missed reaching VCT Americas, losing in the grand finals against fellow NA team The Guard.
According to the analysts, the struggles for Sentinels began when they swapped roles within the team. They believe that Sentinels should have kept dephh as the initiator and let him focus on calling, while johnqt’s role as a sentinel and in-game leader is crucial for the team.
The analysts highlighted johnqt’s shotcalling, utility usage, and clutch factor as key strengths for M80 throughout the NA Challengers and Ascension tournaments.
Related: The Guard VALORANT coach praises team mentality amid layoffs: ‘It was really scary for them’
While there are differing opinions on what changes Sentinels should make, the analysts believe that focusing on winning should be the top priority for the organization. They also mentioned the possibility of replacing TenZ with another M80 player, Marki “NiSMO’ Tayar, who showed versatility during the team’s Ascension run.
However, it remains to be seen if Sentinels can acquire either player from M80. As a relatively new organization, M80 may not be interested in selling off players, which could mean that Sentinels will need to explore other options.