These reports align with G2’s most prominent teaser yet, which was a lightning bolt that bears a striking resemblance to the iconic symbol of the superhero Shazam, with a caption that read, “We need a Hero.”
Among the list of alleged new signees are former Sentinels superstars Shahzeb ��ShahZam�� Khan and Michael ��dapr�� Gulin. They will be joined by other notable names from North America’s previous year of VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) play, including former Version1 players Erik “penny” Penny and Maxim “wippie” Shepelev.
It has been reported that the former Dark Ratio player “Oxy” will round out the team. Additionally, former Cloud9 player Rahul “curry” Nemani was reportedly trialed for the new roster but apparently did not make the selection.
Oxy has a successful history in the proving grounds while playing for Dark Ratio. He is the only member of the G2 roster without previous notable achievements in top-tier play, adding an element of unpredictability to the team.
Wippie has only been in the league for two years having left competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where he spent slightly over two years in the scene before moving to Valorant. The same applies to penny, who has only been in the Valorant scene for over a year having retired from CS:GO, where he spent over two years with V1.
It has been previously reported in October that Ian “Immi” Harding, the former head coach of Version1, will be leading the G2 Esports Valorant team in 2023. The team is set to compete in Challengers due to its inability to secure a partnership with Riot Games to compete in the Americas international league.
On the Challengers circuit, teams from around the world will battle it out for the chance to rise to the new Ascension circuit. There, the top Challengers teams from North America, Latin America, and South America will compete for a place in the international league for 2024.
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