After another early exit for TSM’s VALORANT roster, the organization moved Taylor “drone” Johnson to the bench today. The organization also announced it will be trialing players to find a “permanent [fifth]” ahead of the next qualifier for NA VCT Stage Three: Challengers Two.
Prior to the beginning of the most recent qualifier for NA Stage Three: Challengers One, TSM made a series of roster changes. It benched Stephen “reltuC” Cutler and signed Sean “bang” Bezerra, parted ways with temporary sixth-man Braxton “brax” Pierce, moved James “hazed” Cobb to the in-game leader position, and brought in accomplished CS:GO coach Chet Singh. At the open qualifier, TSM fell in the third round to Noble, who nearly followed that up with an upset win over 100 Thieves.
Drone is one of the original members of the TSM VALORANT roster that formed in May 2020, when the team signed the mouseSpaz roster of former NA CS:GO players. TSM quickly rose to the top of the North American scene by the end of 2020 but have struggled since the beginning of VCT, only reaching two Challengers main events and falling short in now four open qualifiers.
According to Upcomer’s George Geddes, who reported the move prior to the official announcement, TSM has reached out to multiple organizations and already formed a shortlist of several players it is looking to trial. Geddes lists benched Built by Gamers player Tristan “Critical” Trinacty as a name to potentially keep an eye on.
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