100 Thieves head VALORANT coach Jovanni “Jovi” Vera substituted in for Spencer “Hiko” Martin during the Knights Monthly Gauntlet due to travel issues. Jovi had to play in place of Hiko during 100 Thieves’ opening match against MELIOREM in Group A after Hiko was caught up with travel issues and couldn’t make it in time.
“Nightmare travel day today,” said Hiko. “Definitely won’t make this first match but I should make the second.”
nightmare travel day today
— 100T Hiko (@Hiko) February 23, 2022
definitely won’t make this first match but i should make the second
— 100T Hiko (@Hiko) February 23, 2022
100 Thieves recently removed both Hunter “BabyJ” Schline and Adam “ec1s” Eccles from their roster due to a lack of performance. They were quickly replaced by Sean “bang” Bezerra and Noah “jcStani” Smith who were acquired on a loan.
A last-minute decision brought 100 Thieves to Dallas, Texas where they would be competing from the 100 Thieves VALORANT house while playing the tournament. This left Hiko unable to get to the team house in time to play which forced the team to play with their head coach as a stand-in. Jovi, was recently brought onto the team as the head coach after being a former analyst. He had previous competitive experience in Rainbow Six: Siege and some experience playing competitively in VALORANT.
100 Thieves’ head coach holds his own on Chamber
With the recent roster changes, it isn’t clear which players will be playing what role on the team and on what maps going forward. However, Jovi showcased some of his own skill by subbing in on Chamber for the first map against MELIOREM. His performance was nothing compared to Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk but he had the second most first-bloods and showed that he knew a thing or two even as the coach.
“The boys closed it out with @ImJoviGG standing in for me, 1-0 so far and I made it and will play out the rest,” said Hiko on Twitter.
the boys closed it out with @ImJoviGG standing in for me, 1-0 so far and i made it and will play out the rest 🙂
— 100T Hiko (@Hiko) February 23, 2022
For the second match against GunsForHire Hiko was back to play, this time on Viper who has become a staple for him on most maps. Instead of Jovi on Chamber, it was Ethan “Ethan” Arnold rocking him this time around, leaving multiple questions still surrounding the roles for the team.
