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Team Envy announced the signing of a Valorant head coach Chet “Chet” Singh, on Wednesday, October 13. Chet joins Team Envy from TSM, which he was a part of since May 2021.
Team Envy With A New Valorant Coach
Team Envy have acquired Chet from TSM as their new head coach. Chet joined Envy to replace Michael “Mikes” Hockom, who left the team at the start of the month.
The change comes at a tough time for TSM, who are currently enjoying an off-season, having failed to qualify for the VALORANT Champions 2021. Team Envy, meanwhile, are already locked in for the season-culminating event, thanks to reaching the grand finals of the VCT Masters 3 Berlin.
Even though Envy lost their shot at the title, reaching the tournament’s final stage earned them enough Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) points to qualify for the event. Envy ended the season with 450 VCT points, enough for a second spot in the North American VCT Rankings.
The changing of a coach comes off as a surprise given the NA Valorant esports team’s success over the year. However, due to the events that unfolded over the last couple of months, the change makes plenty of sense.
Mikes was a part of Envy since June 2021 and has led them through the VCT Masters Berlin. However, due to passport issues, he had to work remotely to support his team, which competed in Germany.
Shortly after the event ended, Mikes went public with his frustrations surrounding his contract with the organization.
“After a three month period of waiting for a contract to be completed and a concerning lack of communication from the org on the matter, I will no longer be working with Envy going forward. I appreciate the team taking a chance on me when others wouldn’t,” said Mikes.
“I’m very proud of how far they were able to come in the time we had and excited to see their future growth. Going forward, I am taking offers for coaching positions.”
What’s Next For TSM?
With the departure of Chet, TSM Valorant esports team is now left without a coach and field an incomplete roster. Besides losing Chet, TSM also benched Sean “bang” Bezerra, who was cut from the team in September.
With bang out of the team, TSM now field only four members in their active lineup. Those are James “hazed” Cobb, Matthew “Wardell” Yu, Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik, and Aleko “LeviathanAG” Gabuniya.
Meanwhile, TSM have three players on the bench, including Taylor “drone” Johnson, Stephen “reltuC” Cutler, and bang. It’s unclear whether TSM will reinstall any of their benched players, but it seems unlikely given their lack of success.
With only four players in their active lineup, TSM now need to find one more player to join their team, as well as a new head coach.
While an unenviable situation, TSM have plenty of options, as several players have joined the free market. That includes Joshua “steel” Nissan, who has been benched from the 100 Thieves roster at the end of September.
Other notable names who have found themselves benched or without a team recently include Nick “Harmon” Harmon, Johann “seven” Hernandez, Matthew “Wedid” Suchan, and Ricky “floppy” Kemery.
While TSM’s future is unclear, Team Envy have an apparent path ahead of them. The North American team will attend the VALORANT Champions 2021 as NA’s second seed, starting on Thursday, December 2.
Envy now have nearly two months to implement new strategies and learn to play under Chet. Having made it to the VCT Berlin Masters finals, the expectations on Envy are high; however, it remains to be seen whether they’ll show up.