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Post the Ignition Series tournaments, TSM’s run in the North American Valorant competitive circuit has been less than ideal.
TSM was the most dominant side during the Ignition Series tournaments and was able to win almost every single competition from the Immortals First Light to the Pittsburgh Knights Invitational Gauntlet Series.
However, they were not able to live up to the expectations during Valorant First Strike or any of the Champions Tour Stages, as they faced an early exit from both these competitions.
While they did come second in Valorant First Strike North America, they were unfortunately in the middle of the pack when it came to both the stages of the VCT, losing to 100 Thieves in the first and Andbox in the second.
So it’s not surprising that ahead of the next tournament, TSM would like to shake a few things up when it comes to their Valorant roster.
And in a recent announcement, the organization revealed that they would be benching Stephen "reltuC" Cutler from the squad.
The tweet read:
“As of today, @reltuC is benched from our starting Valorant roster. Whilst Cutler explores his options, he’ll continue to stream under the TSM banner. We’ll forever be grateful for what he achieved with us, and we wish him nothing but the best.”
TSM benches their Valorant IGL
reltuC was the in-game leader and shot-caller for the TSM Valorant side, and with him getting benched, the organization will need to look elsewhere for leadership.
It’s quite likely that TSM will be looking to bring in another player to fit in reltuC’s shoes and not just hand the IGL role to one of the existing players. Sure, Matthew "Wardell" Yu might sound like a viable candidate for the role with all his experience, but it’s not certain if TSM will be looking to go in that direction.
However, reltuC might look to secure a spot in another Valorant lineup. Though he is allowed to stream under the TSM banner, he might just look to part ways with the organization entirely if he wants to compete on the professional stage.
