After a disappointing run through the first half of the year, TSM has released its entire competitive VALORANT roster.
The legacy esports organization will be parting ways with Corey “corey” Nigra, Eric “Kanpeki” Xu, Anthony “gMd” Guimond, Nicholas “NaturE” Garrison, and Johann “seven” Hernandez, a month after letting go of team head coach Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov.
This decision stems from the lineup’s recent losses at VCT Challengers Americas, where they met an early exit from the playoffs at the hands of Moist Moguls and FaZe Clan. As a result, they not only lost their chance to compete at VCT Challengers Ascension but failed to secure a guaranteed spot in Challengers next year.
With this loss, TSM’s VALORANT team will not have a chance to compete for the rest of the year, but the organization has promised that it will re-enter the Challengers scene when the season begins again.
This has quickly become a talking point for many fans who hope for changes to the tier-two system soon. Supporters believe that the path-to-pro does not look nearly as stable and sustainable as it can be, especially with teams being incentivized to release their tier-two rosters if they can’t break into Ascension.
Since any non-Ascension teams won’t be playing in any major tournament for a whole six months, the gap between seasons is so large that it could pose a large problem with the scene’s longevity. TSM, for example, isn’t the only team to clean house after missing Ascension, with G2 Esports dropping practically its entire roster following a disappointing end to their season.
