Sentinels are getting ready to battle for a slot at Masters Madrid after an eventful VALORANT offseason that saw them bring in an all-star in-game leader and also call up their sixth man into the starting role.
The team eventually lifted a trophy in Korea, but now they head into the final series of the VCT Americas Kickoff Play-in. Sentinels’ VALORANT roster just needs a single map win to seal their ticket.
Sentinels faced G2, and they could have punched their ticket to playoffs if they won a map, and although they tried to get it by debuting Gekko on Sunset, they lost a couple of rounds on the attack side.
They messed up with post-plants, but they managed to do well on the retakes by switching sides, and they eventually did 13-8 as a flawless defensive side to win Sunset.
After winning that map, the remaining VALORANT series against G2 became a formality for Sentinels, having secured a semifinal spot. Zekken saw his teammates die around him on Sunset, but he stuck a defuse to continue his habit of being the star for Sentinels through the entire Kickoff run.
He led all players in terms of average combat score with a rating of 265.0, damage per round, and kills per round across the entire VALORANT Kickoff tournament.
However, he tied with Demon1, keznit, and OXY for first with first kills per round. Zekken continues to improve with a proven IGL in johnqt, a former world champion in Sacy, and the duo of TenZ and Zellsis supporting him as flex specialists.
Meanwhile, Sentinels still needs to knock out one of the three teams sitting between Sentinels and Madrid, though. LOUD and NRG are two VALORANT teams stacked with veterans, while the relatively unknown, dangerous, and well-coached Evil Geniuses is a formidable opponent. The VCT Americas Kickoff Playoffs will resume on Saturday, March 2.
