VCT Champions might not have even begun, but VALORANT fans are already buzzing after reports have connected one of the biggest stars in the world to a North American for next year.
Erick “aspas” Santos is linked to NRG Esports, who will be looking to sign the 20-year-old phenom for 2024, according to a report from Mais Esports today. The superstar Jett player’s contract with LOUD will be concluding after this year, making him the most sought-after free agent on the market.
Related: LOUD might part ways with its VALORANT superstar after VCT Champions, according to insider
On July 25, a report by esports insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau claimed that the relationship between aspas and LOUD has been “fractured completely,” and that he would be leaving the team after the end of this competitive season.
He and the rest of the team have supposedly been dealing with issues behind the scenes that led to unsatisfactory results over the last few months, including a disappointing run at VCT Masters Tokyo where the team finished in eighth place with back-to-back losses vs. Evil Geniuses and Edward Gaming. Even still, aspas is still considered one of the best duelists in the game, and will fetch multiple offers from top teams in most major regions.
There has, however, been some pushback to the recent reports, especially from NRG’s veteran in-game leader, Pujan “FNS” Mehta. The 31-year-old responded to the reports by saying, “Why do we just lie?” on social media, prompting fans to doubt the validity of the news.
For the 2023 offseason, NRG only has two players with expiring contracts on-record: Sam “s0m” Oh and substitute Alan “ethos” Ruan. The only issue is that s0m usually plays Controller agents for the team. Aspas would be strongest as the team’s resident duelist, but that role is currently taken by Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks, whose contract expires at the end of 2024.
