Fans of top American Valorant teams, Sentinels and LOUD, may see new faces on stage in the regional tournament start as players face visa issues.
Valorant fans worldwide are still buzzing from the excitement of the recently concluded VCT Masters Madrid. However, the action continues beyond that. In just a week, the regional VCT Stage 1 tournament kicks off, offering another round of thrilling gameplay.
America’s top teams, who faced each other in the last regional Kickoff tournament finale, have shown up remarkably in the VCT Masters Madrid – with Sentinels reclaiming their old glory as VCT Masters winners and LOUD with their fifth semi-final appearance in a Valorant international tournament.
While their fans couldn’t be happier with two teams from the region making it to the final four, they may be welcomed by an unusual roster in the upcoming weeks as many VCT Americas players face visa issues coming to Los Angeles.
Sentinels JohnQT and LOUD core team to arrive late in Los Angeles for VCT Americas Stage 1
Among the biggest revelations in the early 2024 season is Sentinels’ new IGL, JohnQT. The latest champion shot-caller hails from Morocco, unlike most Sentinels players who hail from the region (except Sacy from Brazil).
As JohnQT faced difficulties getting his Visa ready for Los Angeles, the Moroccan player headed back home after the Madrid LAN Tournament and missed a week’s worth of scrims with his team.
Meanwhile, LOUD faces worse visa woes than Sentinels. Their IGL, Saadhak, announced that his four teammates remained in Europe after VCT Masters Madrid and missed most of their opportunity to practice for the regional event.
With these external issues affecting two of America’s top-performing teams, many fans wonder if this can result in an unexpected turnout in the Stage 1 tournament. Some Sentinels fans even speculate that the recently hailed champions couldn’t replicate their impressive run without their IGL.
Sentinels will face 100 Thieves in their first match in the regional tourney. Meanwhile, LOUD will face its long-time rivals from the OpTic core in its opening match against NRG.
The top three VCT Americas Stage 1 teams will receive a slot in the next international LAN, VCT Masters Shanghai. Meanwhile, the top-seeded team will receive three circuit points, which may serve as their ticket to the much-awaited VCT Champions at the end of the season.