ESports Connected Enters Valorant

Published: Dec 28, 2021

Valorant is a game that’s been out for less than two years, and during this short period, it has managed to attract millions of fans. It has established itself as one of the best first-person shooters on the market and the game enjoys a thriving esports scene.

That is why it’s not a surprise to see many esports organisations rushing to jump in to compete in the upcoming second season of Valorant Champions Tour.

ESports Connected is a new South Korean esports organisation and they’ve just completed their first Valorant roster. The roster includes a full 5-man lineup along with 2 coaches. One of the core members is Lee “k1Ng” Seung-won, who was loaned from Vision Strikers. The rest of the squad comes from teams like Lag Gaming, F4Q, and Crazy Raccoon.

Image Credits | ESports Connected

The Situation in the Korean Region

ESports Connected has a complete roster and they’re ready to start competing. How will they fare in the Korean region, and will they have a good chance to qualify for the main VCT events in 2022?

If we take a look at this year’s Korea Circuit Point Standings, we can see that Vision Strikers and NUTURN Gaming were the two dominant teams throughout the season. DAMWON Gaming and F4Q also had some good runs, but in general, they were overshadowed by the two giants.

So where does this leave ESports Connected in 2022? Well, they have a surprisingly great chance at qualifying for the major events since there’s already less competition in this region, at least compared to EMEA or NA.

F4Q is no longer a concern as the team decided to disband around mid-October, and two of the members of the current ESports Connected team came from there.

And when it comes to the top two teams in South Korea – Vision Strikers and NUTURN Gaming – ESports Connected have a massive advantage. As an ex-Vision Strikers veteran, k1Ng has plenty of valuable intel for ESports Connected. Jaemin and peri, the team’s two coaches, also came from NUTURN Gaming. This is an additional powerful tool in the ESports Connected arsenal.

When we consider all of these factors, we come to the conclusion that this squad could not only perform extremely well in the South Korean region, but they might even steal the show and establish themselves as the top dogs in the region. The LAN events will be a whole different beast so we’ll see what will happen there if they end up qualifying.

The Team Synergy

Not only did this team manage to grab some of the best Valorant players in South Korea, but a lot of them already played together and knew each other well.

For example, both Moothie and Bazzi were once a part of Lag Gaming. They joined the organisation together, and they left together. Bazzi did end up playing for Crazy Raccoon for roughly six months, but he’s now getting reunited with Moothie in this new squad.

And there’s also zunba and GodDead, who were both once part of the now disbanded F4Q. The last piece of the puzzle is k1Ng, who will be the glue to connect it all together.

Image Credits | ESports Connected

Theoretically, the team should work like a well-oiled machine from day one. Once they go through a few practice sessions together, it’s just going to get even better.

The Valorant Champions Tour action begins sometime in January next year, and the Korean region’s first matches will most likely start in early February, so we’ll be able to see what this team’s made of pretty soon. Hopefully they exceed all expectations and take the region by storm.