Surprises don’t end with the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), as teams are bringing news of upcoming roster changes.
Valorant fans are seeing changes left and right as the VCT Champions 2024 concluded on August 25, 2024. All teams are looking forward to making a strong comeback in the next season’s tournament and rebuilding their team composition. Although the 2025 season is still far away, teams have already started preparing for the tournament. With that, here are the current Valorant roster changes in 2024.
Major Departures and Retirements
TenZ Retires from Competitive Play
Nothing tops the shocking news that arrived on September 13, 2024. After showcasing a stellar performance in the recent VCT Champions 2024, Sentinels star TenZ retired from the Valorant esports scene. He announced his transition to content creation for the organization, thus leaving a void in his position in the competitive scene.
Derke Leaves Fnatic
Derke and Fnatic put an end to their three successful years together on August 28, 2024. With this departure, the Finnish players wish to seek free agency opportunities ahead of the upcoming season. Beside that, this also marks an end to the era of one of EMEA’s top teams.
Laz Retires from ZETA DIVISION
On August 26, 2024, Laz of ZETA DIVISION came up with a decision to retire from professional VALORANT to focus on streaming. With this, the Japanese team, as well as the APAC region, has lost a formidable pro player.
Team-by-Team Breakdown
Sentinels
- September 13: TenZ retires from the pro scene to focus on content creation for the organization.
- September 7: Sentinels’ assistant coach, DrewSpark, was released to end with two seasons on the team.
Team Liquid
- September 11: The head coach’s run with the team ends after two years after eMil was released by Team Liquid.
- August 30: Jamppi, Mistic, and Enzo serve as restricted free agents for Team Liquid. These players can consider other possibilities for their future while they remain in contract with the team.
Fnatic
- September 3: hiro ends his stint with the team after the VCT Champions 2024 ended. He was initially brought into the team as a replacement for Leo.
- August 28: Derke status in Fnatic changed to restricted free agent to start the roster changes for the team.
NAVI
- August 30: Zyppan is out of the active roster of NAVI and remains as a restricted free agent. He is one of the longest-standing core members of NAVI. With that, the move signifies an upcoming major transition in the organization.
LOUD
- September 5: The partnership between LOUD and Saadhak ended earlier after the contract adjustment. Saadhak can now freely explore his options and seek new proposals for the upcoming 2025 season.
NRG
- September 3: Crashies awaits new beginnings as he becomes an unrestricted free agent for the season 2025.
Cloud9
- August 10: Cloud9 announced the departure of in-game leader, vanity, to be an unrestricted free agent in the upcoming season.
T1
- September 13: A major turn-up in the competitive scene as T1 VALORANT Academy released the entirety of their roster.
KRÜ Esports
- September 10: Unfortunately, Heat seeks new playing opportunities as he becomes a restricted free agent. He previously appeared as reinforcement of KRÜ Esports in Stage 1 of the 2024 season after mta sustained an injury.
Karmine Corp
- September 10: tomaszy moved out of the active roster to search for proposals outside Karmine Corp as a restricted free agent.
ZETA DIVISION
- September 7: hiroronn and Yuran are both opening new chapters in their journey as they became restricted free agents. There are currently two remaining players on the active roster of the team.
- August 26: This retirement of Laz from the competitive team is a loss for the Zeta Division. He is now currently part of the content division of the organization.
GIANTX
- September 6: hoody, Fit1nho, and Famsii become free agents upon expiration of their contracts with GIANTX. Famsii is now an unrestricted free agent, while hoody and Fit1nho will follow in late September.
Leviatán
- September 3: With his contract set to expire soon, Mazino turned as a restricted free agent to explore options for his career in 2025.
Gentle Mates
- August 29: Despite his subsisting contract until the 2025 season, TakaS can explore his option for 2025 as early as now.
Conclusion
Unpredictability wraps up the upcoming 2025 preseason with all roster changes happening among the teams. Most importantly, changes in the performance and standings of the team are expected upon the retirement of notable team players.
With these changes, it just shows how highly competitive the competition between players in the VALORANT esports scene is. Even known powerhouses are not exempted from these roster changes; thus, questions from fans surround these decisions. Will they be stronger or weaker with the lineup change?
The KICK//OFF will begin the thrill and excitement for VALORANT in January 2025. Potential surprises in lineups will come in the next few months as teams gear up for the tournament.
