Team Heretics benches Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt, seeks change after poor start to VALORANT Champions Tour
Team Heretics, after a disappointing start to the 2023 VALORANT Champions Tour season, has made a significant roster change by benching Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt. Zeek, who had a successful run on Acend in 2021, will now serve as a substitute player for Heretics.
This unexpected move has surprised many fans and puts the team in a challenging position, as the transfer window closed on March 26. While some teams like Cloud9 made roster changes before their regional matches, others, like Karmine Corp in the EMEA region, had players step down due to poor performances, leaving their coaches to play until the end of the season in September.
Assistant coach Brandon Weber steps in for zeek
Following this roster change, Heretics has decided to move assistant coach Brandon Weber into the lineup to replace zeek. The team stated that zeek’s benching was due to “personality mismatches” and acknowledged that Weber may not have the same level of experience but believes he will bring new dynamics to the team and perform well.
Although zeek is recognized for his experience and success on Acend, where he played a vital role in their championship win and was crowned MVP at Champions 2021, he has yet to comment on his move to the bench, apart from a reply to Polish commentator Krystian “TERP” Terpiński on Twitter. In his tweet, zeek used the popular GIF of soccer coach José Mourinho, implying that he will face consequences if he speaks further about his situation.
This is not the first time zeek has been benched from a top-level EMEA VALORANT team. He previously encountered a similar situation with G2 Esports in early 2021, which eventually led to his successful trade to Acend. Fans will have to wait and see how this benching plays out for zeek in 2023.
Related: VCT EMEA 2023: VALORANT scores, schedule, format, and standings