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Sentinels' run in the VCT 2022 NA Stage 1 Challengers Playoffs ended last night after losing to Version1 in the Lower Round 1 tie with a 2-1 scoreline.
The loss means this is the first time that fans will not see Tyson "Tenz" Ngo and his team in action in an international event as they failed to qualify for the VCT Reykjavik Masters starting next month.
Sentinels were the only side from the North American region in all three International Valorant events in 2021. Hence, expectations were high this year, but they failed to deliver their best performances in the Stage 1 Challengers and are now out of the competition.
Five talking points after Sentinels' elimination from VCT 2022 NA Stage 1 Challengers Playoffs
Sentinels qualified for the VCT 2022 NA Stage 1 Challengers Playoffs after finishing third in the Group B table behind Version1 and OpTic Gaming. However, they lost their first two games in the Playoffs and were knocked out of the competition.
Here are five reasons for Sentinels'early exit:
1) Predictable strategies
Sentinels have been facing this problem since the second half of 2021, and the issue continued in this competition as well. Valorant demands a much more strategic approach than other FPS titles, and the team needs to evolve with new strategies to outsmart their opponents.
However, the North American side has always lacked in this criteria, which has haunted them before and this time. Sentinels need to solve this issue ahead of the Stage 2 Challengers.
2) Not adapting well to current meta
Sentinels' lesser adaptation to the current meta again held them back in an important event. The team has some highly talented professional players but fails to decide on their suitable Agent compositions.
According to the current meta, the double-initiator composition is much more helpful. Sentinels have tried to implement that, but the performance was not up to the mark, resulting in defeat.
3) Tenz dependency
Tenz is one of the finest players the game has ever produced. He is arguably the best in the game, and when a team has such a player, they can surely rely on him.
However, this is going against Sentinels in some cases. Though Tenz is performing well, the team is failing to deliver the right amount of support to him. Hence, it is becoming a nightmare for the side.
4) Communication gap
Valorant demands more communication among players to combine the Agents' abilities to utilize them in their favor. A perfect combination of utilities may help their team to outsmart their opponents in many cases.
Sentinels, however, are struggling in these areas. They need to work on this over the next few weeks to come back stronger in the VCT NA Stage 2 Challengers.
5) Team needs a guide soon
Sentinels need a coach for their team immediately to guide them in the right direction. The North American side appointed Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty as their head coach ahead of the Valorant Champions 2021.
However, he left last February and joined Faze Clan. Since then, the seat has been empty, and Sentinels have missed someone to guide them behind the scenes.
The team is currently looking for a new coach, and according to rumors, Sean "seang@res" Gares is expected to join them in the coming days.
The VCT NA Stage 2 Challengers will start on May 9. |Hence, Sentinels have almost two months to prepare for the next event. It will be interesting to see how the team reworks their mistakes and performs in the upcoming event.
