LOUD, one of America’s most decorated Valorant teams, resorted to signing last-minute players while four of its players are stuck in Europe due to visa issues.
Valorant’s Esports scene gathers audiences worldwide, but teams in America arguably have the most eyes peeled. Moreover, decorated teams like LOUD, which have numerous appearances at international events, have some of the most dedicated fans.
LOUD’s most recent international LAN appearance was their fourth-place finish in VCT Masters Madrid. While their latest tournaments have been successful, trouble seems to have found its way to paradise, and LOUD will be extremely challenged to have a similar outcome in the upcoming VCT Americas Stage 1.
The team’s long-time member and IGL initially reported that they were the only LOUD player to have arrived in the US, while the other four players were in Ireland waiting for their visas to be approved.
LOUD content creators step up to fill Valorant roster due to visa troubles
In a sad turn of events, most of LOUD’s current roster couldn’t get their visas approved to practice for their first game. Thus, the organization has to field a nearly all-new roster for its first games in the regional tournament.
Saadhak announced LOUD’s lineup for their first Americas Stage 1 game against NRG on X. The newly formed team comprises Coreano, Coringa, Yayah, and Bruno PH, LOUD’s content creators and Twitch streamers.
While fans are shocked by the surprising lineup for their first game against such a strong team, many are still eager to witness how Saadhak can manage a team made up mostly of first-time players in the pro scene.
The Brazilian org’s usual roster is expected to return by their second game against Cloud9 in two weeks, as the four players who remained in Ireland recently got their visas stamped for approval.
LOUD is not the only team with visa issues in the upcoming regional tournaments. Fellow VCT Masters Madrid finalist and American team Sentinels have also started scrims without their IGL JohnQT.
VCT Americas Stage 1 is set to start action on April 6th. Catch it on all streaming platforms online through the VCT Americas profiles.