David Denis steps down as T1 coach

Following an early exit from the 2022 VCT Challengers Stage Two, T1 made the first change to its Valorant roster. The team parted ways with their head coach, David Denis. He’ll be seeking new opportunities while the coach position in the T1’s Valorant roster remains open.

It has been an unsatisfactory year for coach Denis and the team. Despite having a positive impact on players, he failed to deliver any major success during his tenure. Nevertheless, T1 appreciated Denis for his positive influence on the team’s mental health, which resulted from his ten years of professional experience in psychotherapy practice prior to entering esports.

Earlier this year, Denis was suspended by T1 for an incident in the VCT NA Open Qualifier. In a match against TSM, he used all chat to communicate with his team, leading to T1 being disqualified and forfeiting the match. The in-game conversation was a violation of Riot Games’ Challengers rule 7.2.11, which prohibits unauthorized communication.

T1 did not have the season they had hoped for, as the team did not qualify for any of the key events this year. They were eliminated from the VCT Challengers Stage 1 playoffs after having to forfeit the final match against TSM. Stage 2 was also a fiasco, as they were smashed by Knights in the first open qualifier of the tournament.

As Denis Departs, T1 will now be in search of a new head coach. Moreover, Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic, who is a stand-in for the team, is also likely to acquire a permanent spot on the roster, which currently houses only four players. If that doesn’t happen, the team will have to to search for another player to fill the last spot on the roster.