News Almost Missed has returned for its second week! News Almost Missed is a series that bundles notable news from around the world that were unable to make it into a full article.

This week saw roster changes for Giants Gaming, Knights, and CLG Red take place while most of the Valorant world has had their attention on the first Challengers main events of Stage 3.

• Read More: News Almost Missed: July 2 weekly recap

Roster Changes

• Illuminar Gaming Illuminar Gaming Inactive AjMERiTO Kacper Barszcz frontside Kamil Moroń grubinho Grzegorz Ryczko Nitro Karol Przedpełski snikk Sebastian Kamiński have dropped Chakalaka Chakalaka Inactive frontside Kamil Moroń AjMERiTO Kacper Barszcz Nitro Karol Przedpełski grubinho Grzegorz Ryczko "by mutual agreement of the parties". The Polish organization had signed the squad after VCT Stage 1: Challengers 2, where they finished a game away from the Main Event. They were twice again close to a VCT event and shy of several minor trophies between Stages. Their start to Stage 3 was abruptly ended by Rhyno Esports Rhyno Esports Inactive Red Stefan Roux Easylife Rúben Moreira Cal Callum Burgoyne in the top 256.
• It's not all bad news on the Polish front, with YAZDA YAZDA Inactive ALMO Albert Mościcki 6ix Denis Madeja Freyy Krystian Konopka NOKOCU Michał Michałów KanT Karol Kantor becoming Anonymo Esports Anonymo Esports Inactive belmonte Kacper Mordak xuss Tselmeg Tsolmon Stix Wojciech Chamielec grubinho Grzegorz Ryczko Katu Kacper Twórz 's Valorant roster. While they haven't found any recent success in VCT, national tournaments like the Beloud Cups have seen constant good showings from them, only once finishing below the top four and winning the fourth one. They hope to bring Poland to the high stages again, considering themselves "a breath of fresh air" for their scene.
• Giants Gaming Giants Gaming Inactive Redgar Igor Vlasov Fit1nho Adolfo Gallego nukkye Žygimantas Chmieliauskas hoody Aaro Peltokangas Cloud Kirill Nehozhin have lost Ričardas "Boo" Lukaševičius and Michał "MOLSI" Łącki, after a long tenure with the squad. Boo has spent the majority of his Valorant career this far with the current Giants roster, while MOLSI became known in Entropiq and Finest. Both playes were benched by the organization, with Giants now having until July 20 to lock in their new players.
• Claudia "clawdia" Che's signing with CLG Red CLG Red Inactive itnothan Han Nguyen emluo mle Emily Peters athxna Mirna Noureldin dodonut Karnthida Chaisrakeo has been made official, with clawdia rounding out the women's roster after a five month stint in the mixed EG roster. Before her departure from EG was made public, clawdia was seen playing in VCT GC Series II with CLG Red. The team placed second in the event, falling to the almost-flawless Cloud9 White Cloud9 White Inactive Bob Bob Tran alexis Alexis Guarrasi Jazzyk1ns Jasmine Manankil katsumi Katja Pfahnl meL Melanie Capone .
• Knights Knights Inactive have brought on two new members: Bryan "MAKKA" Drouillard and Jonathan "silenx" Huntington. Both players played with the Knights during the most recent VCT North America stage, but silenx is slightly more acquainted with the team, as he has been competing with the team since June.
• After a little under a year, Time In Time In Inactive Huston Stephen Huston witmer Shawn Taylor Kurt Kurtis Gallo Morgausse Austin Etue Grego Gregory McAllen has clocked out. The team has parted ways, ending the much-watched project. Originally formed around Tyler "Ninja" Blevins in the Valorant beta, the team has struggled to remain competitive through the first two stages of the Champions Tour. In their Stage 3 debut, they were immediately eliminated in the Round of 128 by Professional Malders, ending the team on a sour note. Call it luck.

Results

• The 10th open tournament of the NSG Summer Championship included three notable organizations: Immortals Immortals Inactive , DarkZero Esports DarkZero Esports Inactive , and Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #20 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le . It was Immortals' first appearance in the NSG Summer Championship. DarkZero ended the tournament as its runner-ups, while EG went out in the quarterfinals and Immortals were eliminated in the Ro16.
• SEA's Masters Reykjavik reps X10 Esports X10 Esports Inactive Vera Rodman Yap Tempz Pierre Heng RedKoh Danial Hakim wayne Wayne Chang Egoist Javier Chua lost in the semifinals of Thailand's Challengers 1. Fear not, X10 fans, they still have a shot at making a lower bracket run off of a pep talk from injured superstar Patiphan "Patiphan" Chaiwong.
• The LAS playoffs will feature some familiar faces: KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #3 keznit Angelo Mori Mazino Roberto Rivas adverso Benjamín Poblete mta Nicolás González Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro and Australs Australs Inactive Capi Ignacio del Rio adverso Benjamín Poblete Tacolilla Vicente Compagnon Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro kiNgg Francisco Aravena were the two teams to qualify for the sub-region's Stage 3 playoffs after Challengers 1. The two are Latin America South's highest rated teams.
• The little-known MTP Esport MTP Esport Inactive Kraît Florent Rivière Killu Vieillard Giovanni NRK Pedretti Charles LowaN Noel Lohan Vbbooy Cossey Cédric boxed Alliance Alliance Inactive out from main event qualification in Open Tour France's summer qualifier.
• An eight-group open qualifier has determined the eight teams who will play in the main event of VCT Japan Stage 3: Challengers 1. The region's juggernauts, ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #2 Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe CLZ Hikaru Mizutani SyouTa Shota Aoki Xdll Yuto Mizomori and Crazy Raccoon Crazy Raccoon Inactive , marched through their groups without dropping a match and were placed into separate groups for the main event.
• The first Indian qualifier for the Valorant Conquerors Championship is underway, with the bracket down to the last four teams.

Matches to watch

• The Champions Tour's Challengers stage in Korea has kicked off as the region enters a new era, kicked off by the return of Lakia to Vision Strikers Vision Strikers Inactive stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Zest Kim Ki-seok (김기석) BuZz Yu Byung-chul (유병철) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) . The seeding stage for the group stage will begin later this week, which will decide the GSL groups for the next stage. Here are the matches to watch:
  • F4Q F4Q Inactive Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) Estrella Park Gun (박건) fiveK Yoo Sung-min (유성민) GOLD Geum Chang-wan (금창완) and Unknown Unknown Inactive INTER LuZ Lim Ui-jun (임의준) will open in the Round of 16. F4Q has remained strong contenders in the Korean scene, having previously made deep runs in First Strike and the Korean Champions Tour before being eliminated by Vision Strikers and DAMWON Gaming. Unknown, on the other hand, is a newly-formed mix, consisting of Korean free agents with experience ranging from TNL Esports, LAG Gaming, Crazy Hamster, to ZFGaming.
  • TNL Esports TNL Esports Inactive TS Yu Tae-seok (유태석) exy Park Geun-cheol (박근철) Jinboong Kim Jin-won (김진원) Meteor Kim Tae-O (김태오) and DAMWON Gaming DAMWON Gaming Inactive Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) allow Park Sang-wook (박상욱) exy Park Geun-cheol (박근철) Estrella Park Gun (박건) Esperanza Jeong Jin-cheol (정진철) are set up to clash in the quarterfinals of their bracket section. While the game does not have any significant ramifications, it will be the first Bo3 series between the two, having previously tied in two two-map matches. The two are both in contention for the third place ranking in Korea, with NUTURN and Vision Strikers firmly in the top two currently.

Other news

• After five months on Triumph's CS:GO roster, Austin "Cooper" Abadir has made his switch to Valorant official, citing the decision as bittersweet but that "sometimes you've got to adapt and move on." The younger brother of Ryan "freakazoid" Abadir, Cooper has a storied career in MDL, notably playing on Swole Patrol, eUnited, and the aforementioned Triumph.

bleghfarec, tamagao, and Hudsen contributed to this recap.