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T1's decision to make drastic changes to their Valorant line-up shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. After their poor performance in almost every Ignition Series tournament, where the squad kept getting worse with each given match, this was something that was bound to happen.
And if the “Skadoodle side-lining” incident was any indication of the events to follow, it definitely showed Valorant fans that not everything is well in the T1 ship.
So when T1 decided to let go of Austin “crashies” Roberts and Victor “food” Wong a few hours ago, we can’t help but take it as an inevitable event that was followed by a series of toppling dominoes.
The two players being dropped might come as a surprise to the T1 faithful but we feel that it’s the right decision by the org, who is taking the Valorant professional scene quite seriously.
Why is food and crashies leaving T1’s Valorant roster a good thing?
Now, this might be a very unpopular opinion but do hear us out.
While food and crashies are individually incredibly good when it comes to Valorant, they have been underperforming in T1, especially against well-coordinated squads.
The most potent example of this was during the PAX Valorant Tournament, where T1 succeeded in achieving a new low.
During the playoffs game against the orgless Team Homeless (which is now Dignitas), T1 got crushed by players like supamen, psalm and dephh. Against the rookie, uncoordinated squads, T1 played like gods but when it came to opponents who had a solid strategy and in-game comps, the roster would just fall flat on its face.
Throughout each of the matches, food and crashies looked like the weakest link in the squad. Even in the most recent Pop Flash Valorant Invitational, the duo looked completely out of sync with the rest of the squad, and T1 finished the tournament tied for last place after they were thoroughly dismantled by Team Envy and Immortals.
Skadoodle, Brax and AZK are the only three consistent members in the squad, and Ska being benched made absolutely no sense to the T1 fans.
With that being said, after all the Skadoodle-nitr0 controversies, it would seem that the former will be back in the squad soon to resume his role as the team sniper.
According to his official tweet and the ones made by ESPN’s Tyler ‘FionnOnFire’ Erzberger, Skadoodle seems to be working on his Agent pool. Being one of the rare snipers who don’t use Jett while piloting the Operator, we might just see a very new version of him in the coming months.
Can “Steel” be the next addition to T1?
To those unaware, Josh “steel” Nissan had decided to leave his professional CS: GO days behind and work as a full-time Valorant streamer for Team Chaos.
And as T1’s current active roster has Braxton ‘Brax’ Pierce, Keven ‘AZK’ Lariviere, Daniel ‘eeiu’ Vucenovic (with Skadoodle yet to return), there are certain speculations that Steel might just be the next addition to the roster.
According to Erzberger:
“Food and Crashies are both great young players. Any top team in NA would be happy adding either to their starting lineup. Think T1 is going for more of a vet, experienced roster this time around. But yes, not last NA team to make moves. A lot of pieces are shuffling.”
And a bucket full of experience is indeed what Steel brings to the side. Moreover, 100 Thieves can benefit from this sudden T1 roster change as well.
As the team just consists of the two veterans, Hiko and nitr0, they now require young promising talents to fill out the empty slots, which food and crashies can very much cater to.
Jake Lucky of the Esports Talk also gave his take on the matter and tweeted:
“Just now stated by a Valorant Pro. Steel potential offers from both T1 and 100 Thieves. This week is gunna be fun lads.”
The upcoming week is, therefore, going to be a very exciting one for both the T1 and 100 Thieves fans.
