Sentinels, is it the end of their Valorant run?

The Sentinels’ Valorant team is slowly headed toward its demise as it faces issues with its overall funding to run the organization. This directly means that fans won’t be able to see their favorite stars under the team’s name if the worst happens.

Sentinels had one of the best teams in Valorant esports during the initiation phase. However, the team faced problems as well with Jay “Sinatraa” Won’s lawsuit that put him in deep ends and allowed the entry of Tyson “Tenz” Ngo into esports. The early Sentinels roster including Tenz had been a favorite until other teams caught up and sent the North America (NA) squad toward its descent.

While the squad solidified its top spot in the shooter’s esports ecosystem, it is now on its deathbed. From great beginnings to the tragic fall, we have described the story of how the NA team has reached its last leg.

The beginning of the Sentinels’ legacy in Valorant

Valorant came as a substitute competitive shooter game to Valve’s CSGO which featured similar gunplay mechanics while giving a different experience. Before Valorant, the last active as well as established organization TenZ was under was the Cloud9 CS: GO team, and had his legacy in the esports scene. In the CS: GO ecosystem, the player had a great name due to his raw mechanical skills, which gave him a headstart with Riot’s shooter. And even after Valorant’s esports was announced, C9 was the first organization to announce their roster under the Cloud9 Blue banner. And,  obviously, the roster included TenZ.

On the other end, a former Overwatch esports player under Sentinels, Sintaraa was facing sexual abuse allegations which led him to give up his career for a large chunk of time. Tenz’s reputation favored him to be a viable replacement as a loan player from Cloud9. Sentinels ended up paying $250,000 as a loan amount which turned out to be a great investment.

The TenZ era was glorious, albeit short-lived

During Tenz’s tenure in the team, Sentinels quickly found themselves in the limelight as they turned victorious. During that time, Sentinels went on to win both the first two major tournaments. As the team started to get comfortable, everyone showed their desire to keep playing together. As a result, Cloud9 and Sentinels agreed to a long-term agreement to finalize TenZ’s permanent transfer in 2021 to the new organization.

After the permanent configuration of the team, Sentinels continued their flawless winning streak after the Masters and won the VCT 2021: North America Stage 3 Challengers 1 and VCT 2021: North America Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs. However, the streak was soon broken during VCT Stage 3 Masters – Berlin, as they lost against Team Envy. Thus beginning a new chapter for the team after having the start no one had ever seen.

After initiation in 2020, the team earned nearly $89,000 which skyrocketed the next year summing up the earning to $462,500 from various sources. This looked favorable to a squad that was newly created and seemed promising to many.

The downfall of the crew after the flawless initial performance

After the first loss against Team Envy, fans still kept their hopes up as it was their first early exit. As winning and losing are natural in games, everyone hoped for a strong return for the team. However, that didn’t happen and a continuous losing streak followed that sent the team into the pit.

When Sentinels was first formed, the team showed a performance that made them look invincible against all. Furthermore, the team also had great gameplay and strategies during the early days that no one could easily bypass. Other teams slowly caught on to new strategies and improved gameplay, creating a difficult period for the NA team.

Losses kept on stacking

The losses of Sentinels kept piling up and led other Valorant teams to believe that they might not be as invincible as they seem. Thus during later tournaments, no one really saw them as invincible but rather as another team to compete against. Moreover, the improvement of other teams was so drastic that it left Sentinels in ruins. The reason being the team mostly depended on raw mechanical skills which were outplayed by utility usage.

However, the team still tried to get back in 2022 NA LCQ by getting former CS: GO star, Shroud onboard. However, that effort was in vain as they had a quick exit after losing both the Upper and Lower Bracket matches. Sending the team even further into the pits and disappointing fans who hoped for a return.

Between 2022 and 2023, the team showed poor performance all the time which led fans to lose hope in them. Additionally, during the 2023 NA LCQ which happened recently, Sentinels also couldn’t last long. The collapse of the  Valorant team led to the victory of KRU Esports who will be heading to Champions 2023. As a result, putting the final nails in the coffin and losing investors’ trust in the organization.

Sentinels face their final days after long-term failure in Valorant esports

In a recent investor statement, Sentinels revealed the fact that the company cannot succeed if enough funds are not raised. At the moment, the offers a Common Stock that amounts to $1,235,000 and may close after any investment. Even though the organization manages to raise the maximum amount, it will likely require additional funds to grow. The following statement was shared on page 10:

If the company manages to raise only the minimum amount of funds, sought, it will have to find other sources of funding for some of the the plans outlined in “Use of Proceeds”

Sentinels even warn investors by stating that they cannot establish a valuation for offerings. Moreover, the organization doesn’t show confidence if they could meet their projections. Thus, voicing nervousness and noting that it is risky to overpay for stocks during this time. Additionally, the company might be acquired other others in the gaming industry.

If Sentinels manages to raise the maximum offering amount, yet fails to raise an additional fund, they can’t last long. They anticipate that the company might be able to operate for 4 to 5 months at max. This is estimated through the monthly burn rate of the company. And, it rests at $695,000 for paying players, content creators, and staff salaries. Additionally, this fund also includes the money required to upkeep merchandise inventory.

With all these reports from Sentinels, it is clear that they might not stay in the game for long. If you want more updates on the topic or other Valorant content, give us a follow. If you want to read similar content now, do visit our hub by clicking here.