ShahZaM explains decision to join G2 Valorant: \u201cThe goal is to qualify for franchising\u201d G2 EsportsShahZaM may have missed the cut for being on a franchised team, but he\u2019s joined with G2 to create a team that can fight for a franchise spot. Dexerto asked him about how G2 came together, as well as his goals and aspirations with the team. Sentinels became a household name through their legendary run at Valorant\u2019s very first international LAN tournament. They swept Reykjav\u00edk without dropping a single map, asserting themselves as the best team in the world at the tournament that kicked off international Valorant esports. Since then, Sentinels have been unable to recapture the magic of that original run. They were able to secure franchising in Valorant\u2019s Americas League, but decided to make some big roster changes ahead of 2023. Roster changes that would push Shahzeb \u2018ShahZaM\u2018 Khan and Michael \u2018dapr\u2019 Gulino off the team. They\u2019ve joined G2, an organization that missed franchising, and are looking to earn their franchise spot rather than having it given to them. We asked ShahZaM about what it\u2019s been like joining G2, his exit from Sentinels, and OXY\u2019s incredibly high potential as a player. ShahZaM has found a new home with G2 For a player like ShahZaM, missing franchising is a massive blow. He\u2019s been a player who defined the early days of Valorant pro play, and has proven himself as an incredibly strong player. He\u2019s determined to earn that franchise spot for himself and his team. \u201cObviously, every player\u2019s goal is to compete in franchising. It\u2019s a little disappointing how limited the spots are in franchising, but you kind of just have to accept the reality of that and realize that, if you do want to compete, you have to continue putting in the effort.\u201d With G2 failing to secure a spot in the EMEA franchise league, it only made sense for some of the best talent outside of franchising to come together with one of esports\u2019 most iconic organizations. As for the reason G2 didn\u2019t make franchising, it\u2019s been difficult to separate former CEO Carlos\u2019 actions from the organization itself for many G2 fans. When asked about whether or not the controversy affected his decision to join the org, ShahZaM had this to say: \u201cI think an organization is not represented by just one person. There are a lot of wonderful people that make up the org that are passionate about esports and work very hard to make the org what it is.\u201d G2 have fully separated themselves from Carlos as he\u2019s doubled down on keeping the friends that got him into hot water in the first place. With their former CEO behind them, G2 was looking to build the best Valorant roster they could to give themselves a fresh start. And ShahZaM was happy to oblige. \u201cG2 wanted to build a strong team, and the team that I thought had the best chance of winning Ascension. Ultimately, the goal is to qualify for franchising. It was the ideal option.\u201d Building the dream team for G2 Most of the players on this roster are proven talent, players with more than enough experience under their belt to hold their own at international competition. But there\u2019s one player who\u2019s a relative wildcard: OXY. When we asked about this player, ShahZaM got audibly excited. He was clearly enthusiastic about G2\u2019s 5th player. \u201cSo, I\u2019m the one who really gunned for OXY because I played a lot of ranked games with him. He\u2019s got a superstar-level talent, I think he just needs someone to guide him through team dynamics and stuff.\u201d It\u2019s important to remember that many of Valorant\u2019s best players came from other esports and had prior experience playing on a pro team in other esports. This is an advantage OXY doesn\u2019t have on his side, but ShahZaM was willing to go to bat for him regardless. \u201cHis comms are good, and he takes his own initiative if he\u2019s got a read on a play. I think that\u2019s really valuable. It\u2019s just about having confidence in the stuff you wanna do. I think he\u2019s an incredible player, and people are gonna figure that out.\u201d While G2 has their own coach in Immi, ShahZaM has a history of in-game leadership. During Sentinels\u2019 run in Reykjav\u00edk, he was the captain and primary coach for the team. If there\u2019s anyone to trust when it comes to spotting talent and molding them into the best player they can be, ShahZaM is the guy. Though he certainly had his gripes with the way his time with Sentinels ended, ShahZaM has moved on and is ready to build a new legacy with G2. \u201cI think there\u2019s a bit of disappointment in the way things were handled in the end there, not just with me. It\u2019s pretty sad considering the long tenure we had on that team, but you can\u2019t get strung up on it. I\u2019ve got a new home now, and I\u2019m focused on what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ShahZaM explains decision to join G2 Valorant: \u201cThe goal is to qualify for franchising\u201d G2 EsportsShahZaM may have missed the cut for being on a franchised team, but he\u2019s joined with G2 to create a team that can fight for a franchise spot. Dexerto asked him about how G2 came together, as well as his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}