ESportsConnected announce entry to VALORANT including k1ng, loaned from Vision Strikers

Over the last years, some of the underrepresented regions in Valorant have managed to find stable footing and have started developing their esports scene rapidly, including the Korean region. Given the success teams like NUTURN and DRX have had in the VCT tournaments, it comes as no surprise that other organizations would want to invest in the industry and form their own roster, especially after Riot Games Korea announced plans to renew their financial support program.

After announcing its entry into the Korean Valorant scene on December 24 through a tweet, On Sla2ers managed to induct reputed players from the region into its main roster, as well as a Coach and Head Coach.

The first player to be signed was none other than Kim "GodDead" Sung-sin from F4Q. Despite being one of the best teams in the region, and even making VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Group Stage, the roster finally decided to disband a couple of months ago after failing to qualify from the VCT 2021 - APAC Last Chance Qualifier. However, GodDead had been replaced by Jeong "Esperanza" Jin-cheol in June. GodDead was a member of F4Q’s active roster in the first two stages of the VCT and made the first Masters tournament as well. Throughout his stay at the team, he alternated between Sova and Jett roles with the occasional Sage picks.

On the same day, the newly formed team also welcomed Yoo "Moothie" Seung-woo, a founding member of Cloud9 Korea, which formed in August, featuring stars from Overwatch and Apex Legends. The team competed in many regional events and finished with decent standings including a 4th in the Huya Summer Festival, 3rd-4th in the Clan Battle Act 2 #2, 4th in the A.W EXTREME MASTERS ASIA INVITATIONAL, and most recently placed 2nd in the Clan Battle Act 2 #3. Although, Moothie made the switch to professional Valorant in May, he is averaging 1.22 Rating and 236 ACS.

Waiting next in line to be formally announced as a loan was Lee "k1Ng" Seung-won, who was part of the team representing Vision Strikers at the VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021. Even though their run was cut short by Fnatic, participating on the world stage itself is a big accomplishment. K1Ng had to share the controller role on Vision Strikers with former NUTURN Gaming player Kim "Lakia" Jong-min, especially on maps like Icebox where Lakia seemed to have a greater impact with the role. With this change, it seems that Vision Strikers will keep Lakia as their main controller. By loaning K1Ng, Vision Strikers still hold the right to retain him; so even if Lakia doesn’t work out, they will have a good backup player on standby.

Following these announcements, the team’s two coaches were announced: Jung "peri" Bum-gi and Jeong “Jaemin” Jae-min. In a similar fashion to F4Q, NUTURN Gaming witnessed all players leaving the roster including both future coaches of On Sla2ers. It is worth remembering their surprising run at VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík where they finished at 3rd place, only to be met by unfortunate fate in VCT 2021 - APAC Last Chance Qualifier, which prevent them from qualifying for the biggest event of the year and VCT 2021. Since Jeong “Jaemin” Jae-min had been the head coach of NUTURN, his presence at the new team won’t be as shocking as that of Peri, who was a player less than a month ago.

A brief hiatus ensued after the coaches’ announcement, which was then cut short by the announcement of [player= 3384], a member of the F4Q till the end. Being an F4Q member, he also played alongside GodDead during Stage 1 and 2 of VCT 2021 and the chemistry between these players will help them accustom faster to the new roster. Prior to Zunba’s entry into Valorant, he played Overwatch leading Lunatic-Hai to two APEX first-place finishes and one Seoul Cup victory. He also represented South Korea on two separate occasions, World Cup 2016 and World Cup 2017, winning both editions of the competition. He is an Astra main with occasionally different picks on Breeze.

With coaches and four players being announced, the final piece of the puzzle remains, and it shouldn’t be long before the announcement is made live. Stay tuned to the THESPIKE.GG for the most recent updates.

With that said, ESportsConnected roster currently looks like this:

Lee "k1Ng" Seung-won Yoo "Moothie" Seung-woo Kim "GodDead" Sung-sin Kim "zunba" Joon-hyuk

Jung "peri" Bum-gi (Coach) Jeong "Jaemin" Jae-min (Head Coach)