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North American Valorant team T1 has decided to dismiss its head coach for the Open Qualifier 2 in response to his guideline violation that eliminated the team from the tournament.
David Denis was caught communicating with his players during an official VCT matchup. It was a direct breach of Riot Games' communication guidelines, resulting in T1's disqualification from the event.
In the Open Qualifier 1 of VCT 2022 NA Stage 1: Challengers, T1 faced TSM in Round 4 of the tournament's lower bracket. While this match was off to a good start, the events that followed have tarnished the team's reputation.
As a result of David Denis' actions, T1 awaits the next opportunity to put on a show at the Valorant Champions Tour 2022.
Valorant coach suspended by team for violation of communication guidelines
T1 shook the North American Valorant community with the news of their disqualification. The team and TSM had their first encounter on Split, which witnessed T1's coach stepping out of the line to help his team.
During the match, David Denis was caught passing instructions to his players, which a coach isn't allowed to do outside of technical breaks and pauses. His message, intended for his team, was sent on all-chat instead, revealing his intentions to aid his team illegally.
Team SoloMid quickly pointed it out, as Subroza took matters to Twitter much before the match concluded.
Denis was caught red-handed during the much-anticipated matchup. As a result, Riot dismissed T1 from the tournament, with the accused members receiving no bans whatsoever.
However, as a sign of good faith, T1 suspended their coach for their upcoming tournament run.
David Denis' actions have sabotaged the side's tournament efforts and resulted in his suspension. However, he issued a formal statement and apology on Twitter, clarifying the issue.
As noted in Denis' formal statement, he mostly issued words of encouragement to the players during the series but stepped out of line when he expressed the "help sewers" comment that led to his suspension. Nevertheless, his actions have impacted T1's efforts to qualify for the VCT 2022.
With his suspension for the upcoming tournament, assistant coach Dakota "Exko" MacLeod is expected to lead the team. However, the competitive integrity of the side is still in question as Exko is a former PUBG professional banned for using unauthorized programs.
Look into VCT 2022 NA Stage 1: Challengers Open Qualifiers
So far in NA, Valorant teams like Cloud9 Blue, Sentinels, 100 Thieves, and Team Envy have qualified for the tournament based on their efforts at the VCT 2021. With T1's recent fiasco, their chances of qualifying for the Challengers appear slimmer than before.
Four sides from each of the Open Qualifiers will join the above sides in the group stage of the Stage 1 Challengers, ultimately deciding the two North American participants at the Masters.
The second Qualifiers, to be held between February 4-7, will be T1's last shot at qualification. It will also decide the four teams that join NRG, Version 1, The Guard, and XSET in the Challengers Group Stage.
