North American organization TSM is set to field an academy roster in VALORANT, multiple sources told Upcomer July 31.
While TSM is yet to sign a team or player to form this academy roster, the project has been given a greenlight, according to sources. Although, it was discussed internally for some time.
The side will likely serve as a back-up to the main roster if one of the main team members needs replacing. The academy roster will likely field some of the up-and-coming talent in the North American VALORANT scene.
Other organizations such as Cloud9 could also form an academy roster, two sources told Upcomer.
One of the most prominent teams in North America, T1, fields an academy roster in VALORANT. The team was originally signed on June 11 of last year and formed around current NRG player Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic and former Dignitas player Noah “rara” Giesbrecht.
Most recently, academy rosters have proven to act as an opportunity for young talent to breakthrough into the main roster. Anthony “dawn” Hagopian, who previously played for T1 academy, was promoted to the main team following the benching of Ha “Spyder” Jung-woo, who is recovering from health issues.
There isn’t a shortage of talent in North America. Teal Seam includes some of the youngest players at the semi-professional level while the former Noble roster previously beat TSM’s main roster in the VALORANT Championship Tour Stage 3 Challengers 1 Open Qualifier, which concluded on July 5.
TSM have made several changes to their roster which resulted in a successful run during the VCT Stage 3 Challengers 2 event, which is set to conclude later today. TSM defeated Gen.G, T1 and Luminosity to earn a spot in the grand final against FaZe Clan. Both teams, including Luminosity and Rise, have earned themselves a place at Challengers Playoffs, which will begin Aug. 11.
