“He needs to beat MxS first, I don't know why he's piping up, he hasn't even played the first match.”

Despite not having played against Erick "Xeppaa" Bach in an official match since July, Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro seemed confident about his team's chances against his rival in their upcoming tournament.

After a thrilling 2024 season full of highs and lows, one of the VCT OFF//SEASON's most anticipated events looks to finalize its representatives. The Red Bull Home Ground #5 NA Play-Ins are soon to commence, with a total of four teams meeting in Seattle, Washington in hopes of claiming a ticket to the main event.

Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #4 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid , Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #7 Xeppaa Erick Bach v1c Victor Truong mitch Mitch Semago neT Michael Bernet OXY Francis Hoang , and Moist x Shopify Moist x Shopify North America Rank #8 Pa1nt Amarri Peak Spaz Adam Laamoumi Paincakes Jake Hass BcJ Brendan Jensen brawk Brock Somerhalder all received direct invitations to the event, whereas YFP Gaming YFP Gaming North America Rank #13 jakee Jake Anderson stellar Brenden McGrath penny Erik Penny thief Brady Dever fiziq Lucas Blow were made to brawl their way through the NA Open Qualifier, taking down Ascension and Challengers representatives alike on their trudge to the top.

Now, all four teams are on the verge of showcasing their talents with the help of stand-ins. At the time of writing, MxS have yet to announce their roster for the event, while Sentinels, Cloud9, and YFP have all been forced to utilize new troops.

“I'm very happy and confident with the people I'm playing with.” stated Cloud9's Xeppaa when asked about his temporary teammates Mitch "mitch" Semago and Victor "v1c" Truong. “With mitch, it's always a good time… [Him and I] click really well.” After the disbandment of Oxygen Esports Oxygen Esports Inactive skuba Logan Jenkins mitch Mitch Semago Verno Andrew Maust Reduxx Yassin Aboulalazm dapr Michael Gulino , the former in-game leader found himself temporarily reunited with Xeppaa under C9 once again.

The recent rostermania following the conclusion of Champions Seoul shook up team after team across all tiers and regions, North America being no exception. Despite these inconveniences, Cloud9's veteran spoke highly of the two new pickups ahead of their match against MxS.

“I'm also excited to play with v1c because I know what he brings. Playing with him for a bit and hearing from other people how he is as a teammate is exciting.” Another young talent who caught the eyes of many, v1c has made his way to Seattle to fight for the trophy, albeit not under MxS, the team he competed in Challengers under this past year.

Xeppaa also spoke of another teammate from the past, Jake "jakee" Anderson, who would be attending the LAN under a different jersey. “It's exciting to maybe play him and it's great to see him make it all the way here.” After taking a break from competing, jakee found himself taking on competition in NA Challengers earlier this year, but failed to make Ascension.

Since then, the ex-C9 Controller had to pave his own way to Seattle alongside the rest of his team, a feat that Xeppaa acknowledged, but not without concerns. “I know they're not playing with stellar, one of the biggest reasons why they made it here considering [he] was their igl, so we'll have to see [how they do].”

On the other end of the bracket, one enthusiastic Zellsis didn't let the recent retirement of Tyson "TenZ" Ngo and Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi stifle his motivation for another trophy. “I think [TenZ] just wants to take a break and live life a little bit with his wife, Kyedae , everything like that. Maybe we'll see him [again].”

“Sacy has been competing for at least 10 years in eSports, way back even before Valorant, in League. He told me in Korea… he missed home, so I guess he also wanted to live life with his wife. Everyone's got a wife and are happy these days, I don't know.”

“We scrimmed with curry and Reduxx last week and I think they slotted in very well. I don't know the rest of the Oxygen guys that personally, but with Reduxx he has shown a great upside in his attitude, skill, and overall potential. He's been frying in scrims, asking us what he can improve on… for his age and with his attitude I can see him having a very promising career.”

Both Xeppaa and Zellsis felt confident in their new teammates who – albeit temporarily – would be playing alongside them at Seattle. The two both expressed excitement at a possible matchup, a match which would only be possible if Cloud9 and Sentinels won their openers against MxS and YFP.

xellsis image Who will come out on top? (Photo: Shannon Cottrell/Riot Games)

“I wanna see Zellsis in the finals… and that's about it. See Zellsis in the finals and… yell at him a little bit.” Xeppaa jokingly stated.

“We both know that he ain't gonna be yelling at shit… He ain't gonna be saying nothing.” Zellsis fired back.

With a single ticket to Berlin on the line, fans can expect the unexpected as the four North American representatives battle it out on Washington's stage.

VLR will be providing coverage of Seattle's LAN in our event hub, where streams, pick'ems, and more are available to all.