OpTic’s core find home with NRG, Zellsis to join Cloud9

As NRG and Cloud9 are reportedly planning big roster changes, the offseason in Valorant is about to get more exciting.

OpTic Gaming placed its entire Valorant roster on the transfer list in order for other organizations to choose them for the upcoming VCT 2023 after they were turned down from Riot Games’ partnered leagues. The formidable roster, however, seems to have found a home as NRG Esports is planning to sign all four of its members.

According to reports from Dot esports, Pujan “FNS” Mehta, Victor “Victor” Wong, and Austin “crashies” Roberts are joining NRG Esports’ Valorant roster for the revamped VCT 2023 season. The organization is also reportedly set to sign head coach Chet ‘Chet’ Singh for the coaching and mentorship of the roster.

OpTic Gaming’s potential Valorant roster

• Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta (IGL)
• Victor ‘Victor’ Wong
• Austin “crashies” Roberts
• Chet ‘Chet’ Singh

 

Although the organization hasn’t yet verified the change, they did make a substantial roster change, which supports the claims. In order to make room for the new additions, the organization has placed the current core—James “hazed” Cobb, Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic, Ethan “Ethan” Arnold, and Ian “tex” Botsc—on the inactive roster.

While NRG allowed most of its players to pursue new opportunities, it seemed to retain Sam “s0m” Oh, a 20-year-old American. Every partnered team in the league must field a minimum of six players under Riot’s roster rule, and a maximum of ten players can appear on any given team. Jimmy ‘Marved’ Nguyen is the sole member of the OpTic team who is still without a home if the reported moves are accurate.

Cloud9 to sign Zellsis to complete the Valorant superteam

NRG is reportedly the second organization to cement a deal with the former OpTic players, Cloud was reportedly the first. According to multiple reports that surfaced a few days ago, Cloud9 is in the final stage of signing former OpTic Gaming superstar Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker for the 2023 VCT.

A recent report from Dot Esports claimed that the organization intends to sign Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, a former Sentinels player and one of the greatest initiators in North America, to round out its Valorant lineup. The signing will bring Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, the in-game leader of C9, and Zellsis together once again. The two were teammates on Version1 last year before vanity transferred to C9.

Although the changes haven’t been officially confirmed yet, fans can expect to hear the announcement at any point in the coming few weeks. All partnered teams need to submit an initial roster to Riot before October 15 for players’ visas, ahead of the opening event of 2023 in February in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Header: Riot Games