Reports Tuesday from Dot Esports and Esports Observer indicate that VALORANT Champions Tour North American organizations OpTic Gaming and TSM FTX will not be among the franchised teams for the VCT 2023 Americas league.
Sources: TSM and OpTic will not be one of the 30 partner teams for the initial Valorant franchise league. #VALORANTChampions #Valorant
— Kevin Hitt (@Kevin_Hitt) September 20, 2022
TSM, while starting strong in the VALORANT scene, waned in 2022. Their rejection is a bit of a surprise considering the organization’s popularity. OpTic Gaming, meanwhile, are one of the best teams in the world and were runners-up at VALORANT Champions.
New: It's reported that OpTic did not secure a spot for the Americas league next year.
No OpTic nor TSM, some big players out.
Read via: https://t.co/THpNHTLXE5
— george (@GeorgeCGed) September 20, 2022
OpTic and TSM miss out on VCT 2023
Not too long after the initial reports, OpTic Gaming player Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen tweeted a gif of basketball star Kobe Bryant waving to the fans.
— Jimzo (@Marved6) September 20, 2022
It looks like Marved is waving goodbye to his OpTic fans and preparing to move on to something else, though his posts are not official confirmation of the decision by Riot.
all good😞 https://t.co/RjRYQDWAM2
— yay (@yay) September 20, 2022
OpTic teammate Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker spoke up on the report as well, with a simple “all good” but with a disappointed look. With how talented the OpTic players are, they will find a new team if they want to. Meanwhile, FaZe Clan streamer Ryan “Shanks” Ngo that asked the question on everyone’s mind.
Whos buying the OpTic roster?
— Shanks (@Shanks_TTV) September 20, 2022
TSM misses out yet again
As for TSM, their meme status within VALORANT in recent years put them in a position where people could continue to laugh. One of the best examples was the return of the classic “When does TSM play” joke, made popular at LAN.
WHEN does tsm play. https://t.co/DDInX8cldM pic.twitter.com/aiW2W6d9Eg
— zara (@eeiutwt) September 20, 2022
According to Dot Esports, Cloud9, Sentinels, NRG, LOUD, KRÜ Esports and Furia have confirmed spots in the Americas league so far. This leaves only four more spots left for this region. Teams like The Guard, FaZe Clan, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Evil Geniuses are among the organizations most expect to join the franchised league.
