NRG is set to make a wholesale change to its roster after a disappointing end to their 2023 VALORANT season. This is as NRG Esports might be making some sweeping changes to its roster in an attempt to change its fortunes for next year.
Three players on the North American team’s roster, Sam “s0m” Oh, Ardis “Ardiis” Svarenieks, and veteran in-game leader Pujan “FNS” Mehta, are set to be dropped. This will make Victor Wong and Austin “Crashies” Roberts the only members left from this year’s lineup.
However, no addition can be made to the roster until the season officially ends next month. NRG has remained a big team from the NA region and has always been considered a big organization thanks to their decent finishes over the years, with a fourth-placed finish at Masters Tokyo as well as a second-place finish behind LOUD during the Americas Finals.
It was not then surprising that they were regarded as a contender at Champions 2023, but they were disappointed as they failed to meet the expectations after losing to China’s second seed, Bilibili Gaming. The loss dropped the rankings of NRG, who Ardiis promised would be “going home, 100 percent” before their group stage rematch.
It is, therefore, important that the organization revamps its VALORANT roster after a disappointing end to its run at the biggest VALORANT event of the year. The actions of NRG at the end will expand the pool of talented free agents whose deals are expiring on the market this offseason.
This means players like Sam “s0m” Oh, Ardis “Ardiis” Svarenieks, and Pujan “FNS” Mehta will all join superstar duelist Jaccob “Yay” Whiteaker and rumored disgruntled LOUD star Erick “Aspas” Santos in the free agent category.
Meanwhile, in CS2, CS: GO’s most decorated professional player, Dupreeh, has said he is not interested in becoming an in-game leader.
“I think I am too dumb to in-game lead, actually. The [IGL] role has never been my strong asset in Counter-Strike, so I don’t think that would be a wise choice for me.” Dupreeh said in a broadcast.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
