SK Gaming SK Gaming Europe Unranked have officially entered the Valorant competitive scene. The storied German organization looks to expand its collection of trophies in its local scene, with the roster consisting of a German core alongside Bati and Meddo , the latter formerly of G2 Esports G2 Esports Inactive . The duo will join German prospects Click , Felix , and murii as the troupe prepares to compete in the 2024 DACH Challengers League. Rounding out the roster are the tenured coaches of joYnt and yaotziN. , with joYnt acting as the brains of the operation for SK.
Meddo spent the early stages of Valorant playing for big names such as FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Zyppan Pontus Eek ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky ardiis Ardis Svarenieks , Giants Gaming Giants Gaming Inactive Redgar Igor Vlasov Fit1nho Adolfo Gallego nukkye Žygimantas Chmieliauskas hoody Aaro Peltokangas Cloud Kirill Nehozhin , and most notably G2, with whom he secured a top six finish at 2022's Masters Reykjavik. After departing the organization prior to 2023, Meddo played in multiple Challengers Leagues for different teams like The Barbers The Barbers Inactive Kryptix James Affleck Meddo Johan Renbjörk Lundborg luckeRRR Niels Jasiek and HSDIRR HSDIRR Inactive Ale Alend Khalaf vicious Benjamin Guilotte lyNxi Felix Björklund Meddo Johan Renbjörk Lundborg freddan , maintaining a presence in Tier 2 through multiple Challengers League appearances preluding his signing with SK.
Bati was part of the former Arroz Arroz Inactive Zino Paulo Figueiredo Bati Miguel Batista DaviH David Cruz tomaszy Tomás Machado VTaguT Rui Ribeiro squad that was later signed by SAW SAW Inactive Fragger Henrique Correia brk Bruno Ferreira GrTw Tiago Costa Addicted Eduardo Torres Cunha20 David Cunha . The organization found success within the 2023 Portugal Challengers League and qualified for EMEA Ascension, where they battled their way through team after team to book their tickets to playoffs. Three wins away from an invite to the 2024 EMEA League, SAW had their dreams crushed after suffering back-to-back losses at the hands of Apeks Apeks Europe Unranked florescent Ava Eugene hype Tautvydas Paldavicius MOLSI Michał Łącki AvovA Auni Chahade and eventual-champions Gentle Mates Gentle Mates Europe Unranked K4DAVRA Thomas Johner RobbieBk Robbie Boerkamp Minny Patrik Hušek Zyppan Pontus Eek Click Haydem Ali .
Click, Felix, and murii all shared time on Wave Esports Wave Esports Inactive SimonD4rk Alexandr Skovbel Click Haydem Ali Saiz Daniel Ruiz for nearly two years before going their separate ways. Despite all playing under different teams at the time, the trio still secured appearances at multiple events in EMEA's T2 scene, with murii even earning himself a brief appearance at Ascension alongside MOUZ MOUZ Europe Unranked Obnoks Nico Garczarczyk iluri Ilari Puranen Fizzy David Figueiredo starki Krzysztof Lewandrowski .
The inception of the SK roster began in October of 2023, when joYnt was tasked with building the roster from scratch. The organization's Head Coach was no stranger to leading notable teams in the past, with a history of coaching different rosters for Entropiq Entropiq Inactive LaAw Mathieu Plantin Twisten Karel Ašenbrener HyP Damien Souville Taimou Timo Kettunen APO Tom Bonnion , LDN UTD LDN UTD Inactive feqew Lukas Petrauskas Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius Destrian Tomas Linikas MOLSI Michał Łącki , and Guild GC Guild GC Inactive Xaline Laure Mateos . Now, three months later, he has finished reuniting a strong DACH core joined by a storied player and Portuguese import.
The first roster of SK Gaming, pending Riot approval, is set to debut in the upcoming DACH Challengers League, which commences on Saturday, Jan 13.