Sentinels fans may have missed the news that Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo is not part of the team’s starting lineup at the moment. Here is why he is being replaced by Jimmy ‘Marved’ Nguyen in VCT Americas.
Sentinels brought Marved in for Week 4 of VCT Americas as TenZ was dealing with an injured finger and a positive test result. TenZ had been dealing with the injury for a while, according to his fiancée, and had been forced to play through it during the start of the split.
Sentinels did not have a sixth player to replace TenZ until after Week 3 of VCT Americas. The team’s original substitute, Hunter ‘SicK’ Mims, was internally suspended by the organization following his March 4 arrest for alleged criminal trespassing. SicK has since been released from jail after 11 days in confinement.
Sentinels signed Marved, who was taking a break from professional Valorant, as their new substitute on March 13. But the Canadian had yet to secure a visa to work in the United States and could not travel or participate in VCT Americas matches until Week 4.
Once he was allowed to travel, Marved started in place of TenZ for Week 4 of VCT Americas. In a video, Sentinels’ new head coach Adam ‘kaplan’ Kaplan said the move would give TenZ time to rest after competing through an injury and illness.
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TenZ out of Sentinels’ plans for the rest of VCT Americas split
During the VCT Americas super week, Marved showed signs of his old self and helped the team to a 1-1 with a win over MIBR and a defeat to LOUD in a close series.
On April 27, Sentinels announced Marved would continue in the starting lineup for the rest of the VCT Americas split. kaplan explained that Marved looked impressive with the roster, adding that, after talking with TenZ, he decided the best course of action would be for the player to sit out the rest of the split.
VCT roster update from Coach @itskaplan pic.twitter.com/q46ADopvYN
— Sentinels (@Sentinels) April 27, 2023
The coach cited the short split and the team’s desire to make VCT Masters Tokyo as reasons for keeping Marved in the starting lineup. Sentinels only have four more matches in VCT Americas to improve on their record and earn a spot in the playoffs. The team is seventh in the league table with a 2-3 record at the time of writing.
Though Marved will finish out the split, kaplan assured fans that TenZ is still a part of the roster and will be with the team throughout the process.
