N4RRATE replaces Will in MAD lions VALORANT roster

MAD Lions have arguably changed their mind and are reversing course in the NA VALORANT league. The organization has now announced that they have reviewed their key newcomers of the season.

This is probably due to the bad start to the season. Following a 2-0 record in the first split of the 2023 NA VALORANT Challengers League, MAD Lions have now made a major change to the roster, benching former 100T duelist William “Will” Cheng. He can now look for new options.

Will was important to the team

According to a statement from OverActive Media’s director of franchise operations Till Werdermann, the difficult decision was “a matter of fit and the needs of the team at the time.” MAD Lions officially made the decision just hours before their scheduled week three game against first-seed M80 Esports.

The decision is surprising because Werdermann praised the new player just a month ago. Even considering Will’s performances weren’t that great in the MAD Lions’ matches to TSM and Disguised, it’s quite a radical move.

OverActive Media has said they “worked together” with Dark Ratio’s roster to get Will into the qualifier ahead of the start. Werdermann has also said that the Duelist “really pushed the team forward and gave them an advantage”. As the organization has announced, Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey will replace him.

MAD Lions need to win now

The decision to sign a team as talented as Dark Ratio just before the start of the Open Qualifier was seen as risky. Werdermann himself has admitted that he’s not sure how a player could handle the mental and physical stress that comes with the Open Qualifier. The organization has said it has “great confidence” in a team that has already had experience together.

Although he was very successful in the qualifiers, Will had a rough time in the first two weeks of the NA VALORANT Challengers. He has an average K/D ratio of 0.91 in the first five maps of the VALORANT Challengers League. He’s only won a third of his opening duels and as far as his clutch chances go, it’s 1:13 for him.

The MAD Lions need to win their upcoming game against M80 to avoid going out of the split as losers in this first Challengers split. Finishing in the top four in their group of six is ​​enough to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational. They definitely need that if they want to make the playoffs.

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