After Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen joined Sentinels earlier this week to replace Hunter “SicK” Mims as the sixth player on the org’s VALORANT roster following Mims’ arrest for criminal trespassing on March 4, the VALORANT community was left wondering about the reasoning behind the move.
Marved is a world-class player who proved his worth as a controller on OpTic Gaming, one of the most consistent professional teams VALORANT has ever had. He won VCT Masters One Reykjavík in April 2022 and finished as the runners-up at VALORANT Champions 2022 in August together with yay, Pujan “FNS” Mehta, Austin “crashies” Roberts, and Victor Wong, and was one of the most sought-after players in free agency before teaming up Sentinels. Unlike what many fans thought, Marved said he’s not doing it for the money.
“At least I have a chance to play, maybe, if I want to,” Marved said during one of his latest livestreams, adding he would consider joining his former OpTic teammates on NRG if the organization offered him the same sixth-man spot Sentinels did. “I think Sentinels offered me the most money for this position. Bag chasing? Not really. The thing is, if they really need me, I’ll play. I’m ready to play some matches if they need me.”
Marved decided to take a break from competitive VALORANT after OpTic didn’t secure a partnership spot in the Americas league. He didn’t want to move to Los Angeles, the city that hosts the Americas league, back then and is unsure if he’ll move now that he’s on Sentinels’ roster. Marved said, though, that he’ll travel to California a couple of times.
Apart from playing for sinatraa’s team UNTAMABLE BEASTS in the open qualifier for the NA Challengers League, signing with Sentinels is Marved’s first commitment to possibly getting back to pro play after leaving OpTic in 2022. He’ll continue streaming while he’s just a substitute and play if Sentinels need him.
The Americas league will kick off on April 1 and finish on May 28. The top three teams will qualify for VCT Masters Tokyo in June and VALORANT Champions in August, which will be played in Los Angeles.
