One of the former XSET founders, Marco Mereu, has created a new organization to compete in the Challengers circuit for VCT 2023, multiple sources told Dot Esports.
The organization has signed multiple VALORANT players to compete in the North American region next year. Former Version1 in-game leader Alexander “Zander” Dituri is set to join the team alongside former Ghost Gaming players Mohamed “johnqt” Amine Ouarid, Gianfranco “koalanoob” Potestio, and Marc-Andre “NiSMO” Tayar.
The final player on the squad is former NRG player Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic, who explored his options following NRG’s acquisition of the previous OpTic Gaming core alongside former FPX player Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks.
The team is also set to add a coach, but it’s unclear who will fill that role at this time.
The roster is set to compete in the Challengers circuit for the North American VCT, which will begin in December. The qualifiers for the tournament will begin sometime prior to the event, however.
The top Challengers teams in each region will compete against other Americas teams in Ascension, the highest form of competition for Challengers teams next year. The winner of the Ascension tournament will grant the selected team a place in the respective international league for the following year.
Challengers will be full of talented teams next year, with organizations such as FaZe Clan and TSM set to compete in the league, despite failing to secure a partnership with developer Riot Games to compete in the Americas international league.
Mereu’s former organization, XSET, which he left on Nov. 4, also failed to secure a partnership with Riot.
