100 Thieves and Cryocells: A lethal combination for VCT 2023

Soon after the off-season began, teams selected for franchising began redeveloping their roster for the upcoming season of VALORANT Champions Tour. Although some organizations decided to rebuild from scratch, others pursued a more conservative approach featuring the replacement of a couple of players at most. With 100 Thieves experiencing success towards the end of VCT 2022, they were in the latter half with only Matthew "Cryocells" Panganiban being brought on in place of Will.

VCT 2022 performance

Courtesy of the circuit points they had earned the year prior, 100 Thieves’ VCT 2022 run began at Stage 1 Challengers main event, where their revamped roster was matched up against the best teams in the region, most of whom had decided against changes. After consecutive losses in the Group Stages, 100 Thieves introduced two changes to the line-up during the event. The outcome did not improve much as the team finished the event with a 1-4 record in Groups.

Following the event’s conclusion, the coaching staff was replaced which prompted more roster moves including the departure of jcStani, Hiko, and Ethan. Joining in their place and completing the roster were Will, Derrek, and stellar. The newly-formed roster was able to finish 5th-6th at the Stage 2 main event and was able to make it to Champions Istanbul through Last Chance Qualifiers. Even though they did not have a deep run at Champions, qualifying was an achievement in itself, as they were one of only three North American teams at the event

VCT 2022 OFF SEASON

As previously mentioned, 100 Thieves were more reserved in terms of roster moves during the off-season, only bringing on Cryocells to provide the team with an offensive boost.

Cryo’s arrival into the lineup

Despite joining the team just a few weeks before the start of VCT 2022, Cryo was a crucial member of XSET’s roster. Throughout the year, his contributions to the team’s performance made the difference in matchups and allowed them to put on great shows one tournament after another. They commenced the year with a 4th place at Stage 1’s Main Event but sought redemption in the subsequent stage by defeating Optic Gaming for the Challenger’s title and earning themselves a spot at Masters Copenhagen.

Cryo finished the year with a 1.24 rating on 253 ACS with several appearances on THESPIKE.GG’s stats leaderboards for the event he participated in further corroborating his individual impact on XSET’s run during the season and 2nd place in NA according to circuit points, which earned them a spot at Champions Istanbul. There, XSET placed 5th-6th against the best teams in the world earning themselves a generous share of the prize pool.

Red Bull Home Ground 2022

100 Thieves were quick to onboard Cryo, which allowed them to debut their new roster at the Red Bull Home Ground LAN hosted in Manchester, UK. Their dominance at the tournament was eminent from the get-go as they emerged victorious in all Group Stage matchups and were able to eliminate Team Vitality in the Semi Finals without dropping a map. Cloud9, yet another NA team debuting their restructured roster, met them in the Grand Finals and contrary to fan expectations, 100 Thieves were able to secure the win after a clean 3-0 sweep leaving the event undisputed.

Looking ahead, there is no doubt that 100 Thieves will be a force to be reckoned with in VCT 2023 as they continue to improve and build on their success in future tournaments.