TSM sign ex-Noble as Valorant academy team

TSM have expanded their footprint in the Valorant scene with the signing of the ex-Noble squad, the North American organization announced on Wednesday.

The team had been on the lookout for a new home since July 9, when they “mutually” parted ways with Noble after a short stint with the organization.

While representing Noble, the team raised eyebrows with a 2-1 victory over TSM in the Round of 32 of the VCT Stage 3 Challengers 1 Open Qualifier before losing out to 100 Thieves in a three-map affair.

After leaving Noble, the team were forced to search for a new player to replace Aleko ‘Leviathan’ Gabuniya, who took Taylor ‘drone’ Johnson’s spot on TSM’s main roster. They ended up recruiting EZ5 member Carlo ‘Dcop’ Delsol to fill the void left by Leviathan’s departure.

Andrew ‘aRubyz’ Seewer, TSM Academy’s head coach, spoke of his excitement at joining TSM, telling Dexerto: “It’s a great opportunity and a fantastic place to gain experience from people that have been in esports for years.

“Our goal is to set the standard for what a Valorant academy team should be, especially utilizing all the up-and-coming talent in North America.”

Imminent debut

The deal struck with TSM comes as a timely boost for the squad ahead of the Nerd Street Gamers: Summer Championship, a $20,000 tournament that will run between August 18 and 22. TSM Academy will square off against Cloud9 Blue, who recently picked up Anthony ‘vanity’ Malaspina from Version1, in their opening match, on Thursday.

“We are going for gold at the NSG Summer Championship,” aRubyz said. “This will be our first tournament under TSM FTX and we want to make them proud.”

TSM Academy’s roster:

• Colin ‘Precision‘ O’Neill
• Nathaniel ‘payen‘ Lopez
• Timothy ‘frostyZK‘ Ly
• Brandon ‘bdog‘ Sanders
• Carlo ‘Dcop‘ Delsol
• Andrew ‘aRubyz‘ Seewer (Head coach)
• Austin ‘Apex‘ Copeland (Assistant coach)