VALORANT Weekly Roster Roundup #5

The fifth weekly roster roundup will cover roster changes from the 28th of March to the 3rd of April.

EUROPE

- Elric "juseu" Belland has been allowed to explore options away from Team BDS. He joined the team just a few months ago in February and only played VRL - France: Revolution - Stage 1 - Main Event with the organization, where they finished second and missed out the VCT Promotion Tournament. Source

- Cowana Gaming has parted ways with Kevin "kev1n" Baumgardt, Miles "Miles" Andrich, and Vincent "Vince" Kranz. The trio was part of the original lineup in September last year when the organization entered the professional VALORANT scene, and since then have helped the team to a first place finish at RCADIA VALORANT United - Main Event and a runners-up place at LVLEAGUE PIXELBATTLE - Germany Qualifier, amongst others. kev1n and Miles are now stated to move away from active competition, although the latter is expected to return after a break. Source

- Ivelina "HellRose" Danova has stepped down from GODSENT, she announced on Twitter. HellRose was signed as part of the full IRIS roster just last month, but the team failed to find success at The Goose House - Birds of Prey - Episode 3 and AverageJonas Tournament Series - Nordic Nations Cup, where they went out in 5th-8th and 17th-24th places respectively. Source

- Felix "Felix" Gerling has been benched by PENTA. He was signed at the start of the VCT 2022 season and played the VCT Europe Stage 1 Open Qualifiers and VRL - DACH: Evolution - Stage 1 - Open Qualifier but missed out on qualification for both events. Felix’s last tournament with the team was a win at Project V - Crown The Champs, but the organization made the change anyway. Source

- Movistar Riders have parted ways with Alejandro "RAYZZ" Montaner Roig and René "Rias" Pitrun. The former had joined the team at the start of the year while the latter had been with Movistar Riders since September last year. After failing to qualify for VCT Europe Stage 1, the team participated in the VRL - Spain: Rising - Stage 1 - Main Event. Following a 4-5 record in the group stage, the organization was forced into the relegation playoff. The two players are now free agents and their futures remain unknown. Source

- Fenerbahçe Esports have bought out Enes "jonx" Güngör from Galakticos. The Turk had helped the team to the VCT 2022 - Turkey - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 2 and qualification at VRL - Turkey: Birlik - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier, but was benched ahead of the main event. Both of the aforementioned teams have struggled at VRL and finished at the bottom half of the table and it will be interesting to see if jonx can change their fortunes. Source

- Berra "Berrie" Özbek has been benched from Fire Flux Esports Fierce. She had joined the team late last year and competed in the VCT Game Changers 2021 EMEA Series 1, 2, and 3, as well as the Series 1 this year. The organization achieved middling results in all three, their highest placing being a 9th-12th finish. Berrie was benched shortly after the benching of Kardelen "Destina" Bağış, leaving only two players active on the Fire Flux Esports Female roster. Source

- José Luis "HUMANZ" Cebrián Martínez has left Arctic Gaming. The Spaniard was added to the team in February this year and only played VRL - Spain: Rising - Stage 1 - Main Event with the squad. They only managed two wins out of nine group stage matches and were subsequently sent to the relegation playoffs, where the team managed to stay up after a win against Movistar Riders. The initiator main is now a free agent and his future remains unknown. Source

NORTH AMERICA

- VersionX have added Katarina and Starlight to their roster. The duo used to play together for Polaris since September 2021. The team is now competing at the VCT GC 2022 - North America Series 1 - Open Qualifier, where they finished 8th in the group stage and now are in the upper bracket quarterfinals. Katriggered Source, Starlight Source

- Immortals Female have signed the full LIGHT UP SKECHERS lineup. The roster features Jennifer "jen" Khamdaraphone, Sarah "sarah" Simpson, Julia "julia" Dias, Kaylen "Kay" Ruddell, and Julia "julia" Dias. The squad had a very good start to the year, with a second place finish at VCT GC 2022 - North America - Academy March and a 5th-8th place finish at Pittsburgh Knights Sakura Cup - #5. Source

- XSET Purple have signed a new roster consisting of Carolyn "artStar" Noquez, Elena "Ellie" Garland, Katherine "starriebun" So, Nicole "Noia" Tierce, and Cecilie "Cille" Lauritsen. Danes Noia and Cille had been part of big name organizations in Rix.GG Lightning and G2 Gozen respectively, and the latter even has a VCT GC 2021 - EMEA Series 3 win under her belt. The remaining American trio know each other, having played under the NOTHING2LOSE banner previously. Source

- CLG Red have added Han "it not han" Nguyen to their roster. The American previously played for a long time with Shopify Rebellion Female and has experience competing at the VCT 2021 Game Changers North America Series 1 and 2 Main Events, along with wins at Pittsburgh Knights Sakura Cup - #3 and Pittsburgh Knights Sakura Cup - #4. She has played initiatiors for the majority of her career, along with Sage and Viper. Source

SEA

- Mathanraj "theDoctorr" Munisparan has joined Action PH as their fifth player. The Filipino previously played with TODAK and then Kingsmen, with whom he most recently played VCT 2022 - Malaysia & Singapore - Stage 1 - Main Event and finished 9th-12th. theDoctorr has had a deeply successful career in the SEA region, having won First Strike Malaysia and Singpore Regional Final and had runners-up places at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Malaysia & Singapore - Challengers 3. He and the team are currently competing at Predator Kings of PH. Source

- X10 Esports have parted ways with Thanachok "notxd" Rattanapranee. He was picked up at the start of the year as part of a complete roster rebuild, but only got the opportunity to play at VCT 2022 - Thailand - Stage 1 - Main Event, where the team was disqualified in the quarterfinals due to unauthorized communication. notxd has been in the professional VALORANT scene since the inception of the game with Sharper Esport and then with the unsigned The Reaper, and is now again without a contract as a free agent. Source

- Rex Regum Qeon have added James "2geMONSTAH" Goopio as their sixth man. The Filipino previously spent 10 months on Zeal Esports and with 6045Pirates before that, and has a win at VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Philippines - Challengers 3 and 3rd place finishes at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Philippines - Challengers 1 and VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Phillippines - Challengers 1 as his most notable achievements. He will now feature for the first time with RRQ at the ongoing Predator Kings of PH. Source

- Sirajul Azrie "Riza" Bin Sirajul Adly is now a free agent after his departure from Kingsmen. The Malaysian has been a part of the organization since November 2020, having won ResettingSleepSchedules and placed second at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Malaysia & Singapore - Challengers 3, among other top placements in the region. He played his last tournament at VCT 2022 - Malaysia & Singapore - Stage 1 - Main Event, where the team finished 9th-12th. The Sova aficionado is now a free agent but has outlined plans to compete at VCT Stage 2. Source

SOUTH ASIA

- Saharyar "Badman" Shaikh has left FS Esports. The Indian was added to the roster at the start of the year and since then has helped the team to a second place finish at Marcos VALORANT Invitational and an 11th-12th place finish at TEC Gauntlet - Season 4 - Regular Season. FS Esports most recently played at the VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - India Qualifier #2 but missed out on Main Event qualification, marking the last tournament for Badman on the team. Source

BRAZIL

- Vinícius "FLUYR" Menegatti has left the coaching role at INGAMING Esports. He only spent three months with the team, during which the team qualified for the VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 1 - Main Event. Under his guidance at the tournament, the squad managed a 7th-8th place finish where the team won one of their four group stage matches. Source

- Team Vikings have signed Simaão "KenzmPs" Azevedo to round out their roster. The Portuguese has been around the globe, previously having played in Europe for FTW Esports and more recently with Sinop at VRL - Spain: Rising - Stage 1 - Open Qualifier, where he was one of the best players with a 1.42 rating. The Breach main will make his debut with the team at VCT 2022 - Brazil - Stage 2 - Access Series. Source

- Stars Horizon have parted ways with Lucas "LKSHOW" Soares, Matheus "dragonite" Matos, and Hiago "delevingne" Baldi. The trio were brought in at the start of the year and competed in the VCT Brazil Stage 1 and Stage 2 Closed Qualifiers, but finished 5th-8th in all of them and missed out on the Final Qualifier. They are now free agents while Stars Horizon are left with three spots to fill before the next set of qualifiers. Source

LATAM

- Six Karma have released Daniel "Mited" Gutierrez, Alexander "Xander" Lopez , and William "Clarenz" Blanco. The Colombian trio were signed in the spring of 2021 and had some great results with the team, including a win at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - LATAM North - Challengers 1 and a third place at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - LATAM - Challengers Finals, but missed out on Champions after they finished 5th-6th at VCT 2021 - South America Last Chance Qualifier. They last played for the organization at VCT 2022 - LATAM North - Stage 1 - Challengers, where a loss to Fusion saw them not qualify for Playoffs. Mited and Xander are now continuing to play together as Los payasos. Source

- Vi4 Esports have signed Mazzaro "Feels" Navarro. The Mexican arrives having played previously on Ryze Gaming and Pro Hub Gaming, and while he spent most of his time at VCT LATAM North Open Qualifiers, he recently broke into VCT 2022 - LATAM North - Stage 1 - Challengers, where Ryze Gaming finished 5th. The move will wrap up a roster rebuild, after the organization had let go of a number of players in March. Source

KOREA

- Yoo "Moothie" Seung-woo has joined Chungnam JUEGO Esports. The Korean comes in having played for multiple big organizations, first with Cloud9 Korea, aNg DarkHorse, and most recently On Sla2ers. He has most notably played at VCT 2021 - Stage 1 - Japan Masters in March 2021, finishing 5th-6th, but is yet to replicate his success since. Chungnam JUEGO Esports on the other hand are still looking for their big break, most recently having gone out 9th-12th at VCT 2022 - Korea - Stage 1 - Round of 16. Source

- F4Q have signed Yoo "FiveK" Sung-min, Ahn "Hermes" Byeong-wook, Park "Estrella" Gun, Geum "GOLD" Chang-wan, and Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin to their VALORANT roster. This marks their venture back into the competitive scene after their successes last year, namely playing at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Group Stage and a 2nd finish at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Korea - Challengers Playoffs. The duo of GOLD and Estrella have played together in the past in the Desperado lineup, while BeYN has played with the former in the VVS_ squad. Source