Team Heretics Bench Ardiis, Amilwa Takes His Place
Published: Jul 19, 2021 - Last Updated: Jul 18, 2023
Team Heretics have just made an announcement that they’ll be benching Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks due to his current health issues. The French player Amine “Amilwa” Saidi will be replacing ardiis and taking his spot in the VCT Stage 3 for the time being.
Team Heretics have really been struggling for the past few Valorant Champions Tour events, so this unexpected change could put even more pressure on the team. Ardiis and paTiTek were brought on board in early June, and were expected to be the reinforcements that would bring Heretics out of their current slump. While this whole situation is very unfortunate, Amilwa could perhaps prove to be just what Heretics needed at this point.
Things are looking bleak for Heretics
Team Heretics were once considered as one of the top teams in Europe. As time went by, the Valorant scene kept changing but Team Heretics couldn’t seem to keep up. Even though they introduced many changes to their roster, there wasn’t any significant change in the way the team performed.
Valorant Champions Tour Stage 1 was great for them. They claimed second place in the VCT Stage 1 Masters, but things quickly went downhill after that.
Stage 2 was pretty unremarkable in terms of overall performance. The team showed no significant results and would eventually fade out for a while.
The beginning of Stage 3 was a chance for Team Heretics to start fresh, so they bolstered their roster and braced themselves for the challenges that lay ahead. However, they didn’t even manage to qualify for Stage 3 Challengers 1. And to make matters even worse, one of their star players is now benched and we’re not sure how long his recovery will take.
If we look at the recent VCT Stage 3 Challengers 1 in Europe, you’ll notice how the overall team quality has increased drastically. G2 have risen from the ashes and secured a spot at the Challengers Playoffs. Acend is stronger than ever, while both Guild Esports and FunPlus Phoenix have displayed incredible performance. Even though Fnatic and Team Liquid failed to qualify in Challengers 1, they’ll surely be there to compete in the upcoming Challengers 2.
Team Heretics have been great a while ago, but it’s hard to see them beating these squads right now. They will surely attempt qualifying for the VCT Stage 2 Challengers 2, and even if they manage to do so, there’s no guarantees that they’ll make it past Fnatic and Team Liquid.
Can Amilwa save the day?
Amilwa joined Team Heretics as a last-minute replacement. Ardiis is out of the picture while he focuses on his recovery. But the question is – will Amilwa be enough?
Honestly, it doesn’t seem so. Team Heretics signed ardiis and paTiTek as a package deal. Both of these players came from G2 Esports, so they knew each other for a long time and were familiar with their playstyles. Losing ardiis at this crucial moment is a heavy loss for the team, but they have no other option but to attempt qualifying with Amilwa.
This also means that the weight of the entire team now rests on Amilwa’s shoulders. Even though he plays a support role and will most likely be in charge of playing Sova, he will still feel under heavy pressure.
His stay in Team Heretics relies entirely on his performance in the upcoming matches. If he underperforms, then ardiis will simply reclaim his spot as soon as he recovers. But, if he somehow dazzles everyone and pulls off some incredible plays, securing key victories for Team Heretics, he could very well find himself staying long-term.
It would be great to see Team Heretics return to their former glory, but we’ll have to wait and see how it turns out. Although the Valorant betting odds may not be in their favour, they still have a chance to climb back to the top.
