The roster reshuffle bells started ringing for Sentinels after the team failed to qualify for VALORANT Champions in Istanbul, Turkey this year. While no one can blame Sentinels for bringing in new additions to its roster after a failed season, it isn’t every day that the player the team’s looking to replace finds out about it at the same time as everyone else in the world.
Reports mentioning Sentinels’ plans to rebuild its VALORANT roster surfaced toward the end of September. Considering the team was eyeing a new in-game leader to bolster its ranks, it was implied that ShahZaM would be leaving the team. The veteran’s contract was set to expire at the end of the year, so it could have also meant that there would be more room for plans and negotiation—but that wasn’t the case.
Roster reshuffles are generally seasonal occurrences that tend to be expected for teams who performed below expectations during the prior season. Delicate matters of this kind are often anticipated to be fully cleared out with the involved professional players and the staff, a complete opposite of what happened to ShahZaM.
ShahZaM received the news of his departure alongside everyone else while streaming as an article was published. The in-game captain was surprised at the way he was handed the news considering he has been in Sentinels for the last two and a half years.
Sentinels is reportedly set to add Rory “Dephh” Jackson and Zachary “zekken” Patrone in addition to two prominent coaches to rebuild its VALORANT roster. The process is still ongoing, and Sentinels looks to finalize its roster quickly to start boot camping before the upcoming competitive VALORANT season.
It’s currently unclear whether ShahZaM is in talks with another team, but considering the level of experience he can introduce to a squad, it’s surely only a matter of time before he gets swooped up.