50lbs is crazy weight loss. Good on him, the longer hair also looks better. Buzzcut made him look like a skinhead dwarf.

When I saw the name of this thread, I thought it was gonna be about Woohoojin. But to answer your question:
APAC:

• T1 brought in Meteor which is probably the best signing of the season at least in APAC.
• Akame from DFM, Kush from RRQ and HYUNMIN look like they can be the strongest within their teams - their offseason performances have been great.
• Biggest flop could be either Athan (DRX) or gyen (DFM). Athan just feels like Tier 2 quality at best and oddly reminiscent of Yuran who was the biggest flop of last season. gyen is just young and I think he could be amazing if he undertakes some of SSeeS' qualities as a controller.

EMEA:

• Imports galore with Less in Vitality and Saadhak in KC. This region has probably the most recycled transferred talent and you could look at RocketBullets' spreadsheet to see all the names on their new teams.
• Most hyped prospects objectively are florescent, kaajak, xeus. Though I am most hyped for RobbieBk. He is a solid IGL and seems to have confident fragging ability.
• Biggest flop could be the most hyped prospects and I think a lot of people are hoping on florescent to flop. I see kaajak flopping hard if he cannot make the most of the FNATIC system. flyuh is a huge question-mark signing and I see him flopping. And then the Vitality super-team could be a massive flop in of itself.

Americas:

• Verno and Mada from NRG look to be beasts. Cortezia may be the Brazilian ScreaM with his 70% HS in some of his games.
• Jawgemo went to G2 which could enable this Ascension team to win an international. yay and icy to EG could be big. Aspas in MIBR with nzr could be solid as he wanted to play with this IGL. N4rrate and bang in SEN could be solid, but the role swapping is a huge issue that needs to be smoothed out.
• Biggest flop could be C9 especially with their whole roster-shuffling drama. They got Rossy but released him after RBHG and got Mitch to replace him. Net came in for Moose after lacklustre performances in off-season. Equally, LEV could flop if Demon1 is not performing at his 100% and SEN could equally flop if the role-swap issue persists.

China:

• This region feels the messiest in transfers, but I would say that Wolves getting Juicy and having Spring on duelist could make them a Top 4 contender. XLG has a decent bit of hype since Rarga is a solid duelist.
• Yosemite to FPX could give some stability although it feels like they got too many players in similar roles. Haodong is back to IGL of TEC which could make them another promising underdog.
• Biggest flop is a huge coin-toss. But I can see it being BLG since they've been waning in quality since Biank left. JDG and All Gamers also seem very weak and spotty in terms of their acquisitions. Honestly, CN is probably the region with the most defined Top 4 and only BLG might get pushed out if Wolves go all-in.

It is probably the most obvious form of BMing. It definitely gets a fine. And I imagine that it also runs the risk of making a stream possibly "not family friendly".

Facts, if you have watched it a long time ago, rewatch it. It's so worth it.

It really depends on map-design. Astra is good on Abyss and Pearl due to the long rotations/entries into site. Omen is good on maps like Ascent and Sunset due to the faster rotations. When we get 10.0, I think we will be in arguably one of the most balanced dome-smoke map pools:

• Brimstone has Fracture and Bind;
• Astra has Pearl and Abyss;
• Omen has Haven, Split and Lotus.

Omen will still probably lead in smoke-picks since he is viable on Abyss. Astra can be played on all of Omen's maps albeit at the trade of the speed of his smokes and his flash.

In a short summary, Astra probably won't be better than Omen in picks still, but she has high potential if the teams/players prefer her playstyle over Omen.

Damn, this is rough. Even if he was given a content-creator contract with an org to help fund rent, bills, food, etc. it's gonna be the things that money can't really buy long-term like ensuring his sisters are raised with proper care and attention that put the weight on him. A tough turn in life for an 18 year old and I do hope the best for him. Hopefully he has some sort of extended family too.

I remember Zellsis on his first time with Sentinels and he would usually duo-queue with Katarina (Demon1's current fiancée). It would be super-awkward "flirting" and this was at a time when Sentinels were at a huge low point in regional performances.

A little bit hypocritical of Zellsis to claim moral superiority but on the other side, you can argue Zellsis has matured a bit from that period of time. Mooda is definitely going further than some of the stuff that Zellsis has done and his ragebaiting is becoming more and more jarring. It was a bit funny watching him swipe his webcam when he whiffed or choked or got trolled by chat as well as hitting Drake - Trophies when he got his clutch. However, he is now terrible to watch.

dawg just use mspaint or a cracked adobe photoshop/premiere pro

Was about to say where is JA since he was looking filthy on duelist and was fragging well on smokes. Seen some other comments about him going to TS with JessieVash going to coach which is kinda cool. Nice to see a player take the challenge of coaching and allow for new blood to play in Tier 1. Though it looks like JA is on sentinel which could be fine. I just wish we could see him on smokes or like a flex role. In an ideal world, TS would be: JA, xavi8k, invy, Wild0reoo, Papi.

I feel like many pros don't use Sentinels of Light because it would draw out the most insane BM on the finisher. You would need some self-control not to BM the enemy.

Hard disagree with your take. Maybe you're not serious about ranked, but people have goals in mind that they're trying to achieve. I can't speak for every player or every scenario, but in competitive, you will be more than frustrated if your team is playing stupid, making the same mistakes every losing round and stops communicating things.

You say get a job to kids which is so funny. But let's say these people are adults. Your point is just ad hominem rather than actually trying to criticise how they play the game. You can't relate to the passion they have because you're probably content with where you are. And that's fine to admit. But if that's not what you are, then you need to stop your hypocrisy since these people just wanna climb ranked as much as the next player, regardless of high, mid or low ELO.

Your mentality that these kids don't have a chance to reach their goals, which you don't know, says a lot about how you treat yourself and others. Stop treating everyone like they're trying to go pro. You don't realise how much hard work goes into playing Valorant at a high level and you just brush it off as "more talent than hard work". Talent only becomes understandable at the highest level when you can play any role on any map and produce results. When you consistently MVP games and make Radiant look like a joke. But that's 0.01% of the ranked pool and most people will not reach an adept mastery on every role since people "main" agents. But going back to the point, most people in Valorant ranked are putting in hard work to play the fundamentals right and be competent aimers. Talent only comes when you pick up things easily and progress abnormally fast to reach either points I mentioned or both.

I'll give you one benefit of doubt and say that some people definitely overreact to little things. You will trade someone but then someone cries about: "Why did you let me die?" or "Why did you bait me?" People will find the tiniest things to complain about even if you win a round or gunfight. In those situations, I would say it's justified to probably criticise their mental.

Reading the context, this guy is so stupid. He has one of the greatest voice-acting roles which would have his career set for life. I don't know why voice-actors act like they don't have real life repercussions. Recently, there was some controversy over the Dandadan (Anime) VA being racist and disrespectful. He deletes all his social media, goes to bluesky to "avoid the racists" despite being racist himself and the Japanese audience defending the original art of the main character.

Tangent aside, if this stops you from watching Beyond the Spiderverse, you are ruining the experience for yourself. This movie is unfortunately not releasing in 2025 due to other reasons - probably just making the movie as refined as possible since this is the finale. And if the main VA is cut, there should be an understudy.

Ardiis just baiting and reaction-farming. He has very biased takes such as the primmie stuff. His GC takes are somewhat fair since it's the truth of the esport. He is definitely very blunt and comes off a lot more rude than what people might hope for when discussing these topics.

I wouldn't say his mechanical level is that high, but what he offers is amazing stability on the Sova. He is still mechanically amazing, but his game-sense and ability usage makes him a great asset to any team. I agree though that he is a proven IGL and should have been given a chance to run it on EMEA. Maybe there was also VISA issues, etc.

You missed my second sentence where I acknowledged KellyS ain't playing Raze in Tier 1. And whilst Kr1stal first-timed Deadlock, he was playing very well with KellyS to set him up. It's just a skill-diff at the end of the day. 3-0 in the Bo5 to PRX, gg

KellyS played Raze on Split against PRX on Day 1. It's definitely not what he would play in Tier 1, but they probably made these decisions based on what they are most comfortable playing. Maybe enerii no longer feels like playing Raze. Kr1stal on Deadlock has been working very fine. Alexy has played Fade as well. You can call it off-roles, but they played decently well - at least KellyS and Kr1stal. I think enerii is still finding her footing as a sentinel player. She isn't getting her big numbers like she would on Neon/Jett.

Picking up flyuh as well when Kr1stal exists to IGL. But I imagine Kr1stal chose to play a role where he is not main-caller and can still play his comfort picks.

Kr1stal 1v4, KellyS 1v3, Jinggg 1v4. Nothing makes sense but it is wild

Double-sentinel comp is fine. You can see that it's a mirror match from PRX. Stop crying because your team is being outplayed. And just like someone else said, it's an off-season. You can be pumped to win, but do not take it as trolling if they lose like this. KellyS has been playing sick on Raze. So many nade-combos with Kr1stal's grav net

Honestly, the beef is so low-tier and obvious clip-farming from Shanks.

He got nerfed due to high pick-rate in pro scene. Kinda sucks that his one-ways (the key personality trait of his smokes) got nerfed. 5-star Astra will eventually overtake some of these picks on maps like Pearl and Abyss. Same thing happened to Viper who was viable on nearly every map in the pool at her prime.

Proof?

HS% is decent. You probably need to make better decisions since your KD could be higher

He was outclassed today by better teams, but bare in mind he was picked up from ranked. His aim is definitely not mid, but it's more so down to his decision-making as well as some of the team-calling today. SSeeS is clearly more experienced than gyen and can play out scenarios better. Additionally, gyen is probably still rank-brained where he prefers playing Clove and taking riskier duels.

So in this example, your opponent is clearly forgetting their role and perhaps they're not in the right mindset to play. But that's not in your control. What is in your control is downloading this knowledge that this one player will rush in no matter what. As such, you should play faster than him if he refuses to listen to your comms. Try and speak to other 3 players to see if they can send in a flash, dart and/or smoke to make your entry easier. Act as the distraction with your updraft+dash. You have util to survive like your cloud burst.

If you cannot win this scenario as Jett, then you need to play an agent which dictates the entry better like Omen or Sova. Sova's dart makes it so the enemy has to hide. Omen can flash generator and smoke common angles. And whilst you have done either of these, you need to make intentional peeks on angles that your util has not cleared.

SSeeS is great and I would love to see him play due to his aim being good enough to compete in Tier 1. But keep in mind gyen is still young and this is his first pro team. He will learn the agents over time to play his role better. Gyen is an insane aimer and his confidence allows him to play in ways that the opponents expect less often.

Exactly. If you really wanted to make a map which didn't have this post-plant issue, you would need to completely rethink the map design since it is so common on many maps. After watching the Shanghai Major, it's clear to see that CS maps have a lot more depth and openness. The sites are usually open with lots of objects that can obstruct vision on a defuser so you're forced to play on-site more often.

If you're getting punished by a "monkey" who does "stupid peeks", that's on you for autopiloting and/or peeking even more stupidly. You're in a lose-lose for your mental and you need to probably think as much as possible how you can refine your play. It's easy to blame opponents, teammates, guns, abilities. So difficult to blame yourself for a mistake or something you could have done better.

Then as I said in post #31 on this thread, get someone to queue up with. Get someone to coordinate with on a regular basis and isn't just a "run it down on reyna or jett" type of player. Obviously, you'll get some people high on their ego thinking they're next big aimer, but you need someone with similar goals to you. Solo-queue is always gonna be rough.

This type of "listen in to the comms" is very common on the off-season. It gives viewers a deeper insight into how pro-play works and what is being said in the moment. Adds to entertainment and analysis. Also, it's an off-season so nothing big should be revealed. It's still semi-serious as every pro team would wanna win prize money or get some extra clout/support. Teams have plenty of strats and adaptations usually.

Then it sounds like you need someone to queue with. Also, if you're calling your teammates monkeys but the opponents good, then that's kind of a bad mental issue. Your teammates should be capable enough with their util if they're immortal. If they refuse, then it's tough to convince them otherwise.

Now regarding this Split B-site scenario, you should have someone playing mid and applying pressure whilst you're entering. You could use an unconventional smoke to cut off the vision of an operator-player since the op sucks at close angles especially on a claustrophobic site like B on Split.

If you're up against a good operator-player, then that's always gonna be tough. However, they are not immune to death. You need to coordinate with your team better especially since you just told us you're immortal - you have access to comms and therefore can ask for certain util to be used to push the operator player off their angle.

Additionally, you can try to figure out the habit of the operator player, as in which angles they hold often, and draw attention on the opposite sides and areas of the map to where they play. They will not hold an angle for a whole round and will rotate eventually. Let's say if they even solo-anchor and just stick to their site: then you just need to ensure that you make the operator-player as uncomfortable whilst they reposition. They will kill some of your teammates, but if you can deny their dash or TP and then trade, you're golden.

If he's immortal, then he can definitely communicate to his teammates about util and asking them to use it in certain areas. I get that even in high elo, some teammates refuse to cooperate or will do dumb things, but the least he can do is utilise the team as well as his util to punish Operator-players.

If you have only 2 flashes, then don't waste them pre-emptively whilst pushing. Let your initiator scan info or clear space. Or if you're playing Breach, clear the space with a stun and let your duelist enter first. Try to understand where your opponent commonly peeks or pushes out from and punish it. Don't autopilot and play the same round over and over though - switch things up, push different areas of a map.

Agreed. For Omen, Haven will be kind of a safe stay for him. His TP and flash are also a bit more valuable than an astra suck and concuss. I can see Omen maybe going on Split and even Lotus.

I understand that the ping nerf is to counter smoke-spamming the spike especially in pro-play, but if you were to ping something across the map or die and ping something for a teammate, they are gonna struggle to understand where you mean. You might call it out and they still don't understand where they are supposed to look. This is especially the case for low-Elo players or newer players. This ping nerf massively hurts the learning curve for these types of players whilst not fully addressing the post-plant problems where it's easy to play from main and spam a default plant spot through a choked angle.

And I have read what another user has said about "fix the maps" and that is what Riot should be doing. It takes longer, yes. However, it will benefit the game long-term and develop more tactics asides "Let's spam from main". This ping nerf does not address the issue of smoke-spamming and you can watch Thinking Man's Valorant which addresses the whole issue in greater detail. Teams can still plant default or in common angles and spam from main. They have enough game knowledge that ping or not, they can spam the spike defuser.

Yeah, I meant March 2026. My implication was that Sayonara plays the 2026 season.

I agree that there is little time and opportunity to seek insane results, but bare in mind that FNC are still among the best in EMEA. Despite missing Madrid and flopping in Shanghai, they still attend internationals since they are tactically one of the best teams. The key issue with FNC is winning at these internationals which they are coming very short on achieving. Kaajak can improve via scrims and finding what works best for the team.

Fnatic still has a whole season to go and anything can change especially with all the time they have to scrim and develop new strategies. And this is all the whilst they are using crashies as a fill for Leo so things could even improve if Leo is at full-health.

Yeah, Sayonara turns 18 in March 2026. Verno is much better on initiator than sentinel. I think they put him on sentinel to try some double init-flash comps, but it doesn't really work too well on a lot of maps. Sayonara is still young and I think it's mostly down to experience when it comes to playing on the big stage against big teams even in off-season. Sayonara has insane aim and his ranked numbers are unbelievable. If he can convert that to pro-scene, he will be amazing.

Kaajak's numbers have been a bit lacking. But he has been improving a lot over this off-season. I think Derke is still the best duelist with Xeus closely behind (insane aim, but can overextend at times). If Kaajak can continue to improve, he will be a problem.

Donk's numbers are crazy. M0nesy is also a beast. And even though Mongolz are out, mzinho was looking fire. No doubt CS2 has some insane talent and Valorant has to catch up on the years of progress CS already has.

However, there are some insane players for the upcoming season and also looking at 2026. Cortezia looks like the Brazilian scream with his recent 70+% headshots. Verno when locked in looks so dominant. DFM are filled in on great Japanese talent. Sayonara could potentially be Leo 2.0 when he turns 18.

Antarctica >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Not every transfer really needs an article on it. It was already shown that NAVI completed their main roster for 2025 so it would be redundant to make an article that explicitly states ardiis has been released. If he gets signed by a team, fair enough. He could go to APEKS, but I think they picked up a Turkish Tier 2 talent called batujnax

It's no sweat. Whatever you're comfortable with, just try to get your feet on the ground with streaming and hopefully one thing leads to another.

Great that you know what you're good at. Maths was also something I loved. As a degree, it might become something you hate since Pure Maths is the bane of any mathematician due to its abstract nature. But if you are good with coding and logic, CS is a nice degree. Very popular and competitive, but you're almost guaranteed a good job if you're proactive on projects. Plus it can provide an easier pathway into eSports than other disciplines. As for streaming, take my advice and do it sooner than later. If the burden of streaming cannot be balanced with studying, by all means put it on hold, but take the dive first rather than procrastinate it

Firstly, extremely relatable post. Sometimes I wish I could go back to secondary school when all I could look forward to is going home, playing PS4 with my mates and watching my favourite YouTubers. Unfortunately, time does not go backwards and you have to embrace the future.

Figure out what you enjoy and what you're good at. If you're good at numbers, take up a numerical degree like Economics, CompSci, etc. If you're good at more verbally-written assignments, History or some sort of analytical field would be good. Then when it comes close to graduating, you should look at doing some internships, summers/weeks in a company to get experience so you can then apply it to the things you enjoy. And what you enjoy will always change so keep it close to you.

Being financially free is subjective to a certain extent, but if you have a good job (i.e.: you don't work retail or food services for the rest of your life), you will be mostly financially free. Though American educational debt is annoying, you will probably have enough income to enjoy things from time to time.

Now, Sliggy is indeed fortunate to be in the position he is in, but do not discount that he has worked hard to get where he is. He started off as a pro in CS:Source back in 2009 and was a coach in CSGO from 2015. Then he goes to Valorant and coaches pro teams until 2022. In basic terms, he has been working hard for a decade to maintain his presence in a volatile environment like the eSports market. He is now a streamer, but he didn't just sprout knowledge for the game. He has been consistently a thinker-type for years across games - and therefore, he has earned his comfort to stream Valorant pro games and get paid nicely for it. Bare in mind, he is also fairly new to streaming so he isn't raking in huge numbers, but he definitely gets a nice sum of money from his TL contract.

All-in-all, there is a lot of hard work you got to commit if you wanna be in Sliggy's position. And this goes for any high quality role, corporate or freelance. If you wanna be a streamer-analyst, start right now as a hobby to stream. Post your VODs or clips to all social medias. Build a brand and network with individuals.

It's 1 map, but damn that is insane that he did that whilst top-fragging.

Yeah, having underage players limits the days and/or hours that they can play. Best they can play is Tier 2 to get professional experience whilst maybe scrimming with the Tier 1 team.

I literally say in my 2nd bullet point Laz would be an upgrade over ban. I'm just disagreeing with your take that I should "never say ban is good" when he is not that bad of a sentinel player. Laz is definitely better, but ban could probably be fine in a Tier 2 environment.

Between him and Governor, I prefer ban on sentinel role. Governor is very new to the initiator role. Also, don't involve KR players into the team. The benefit of going all-Thai is the comms will be in their primary language. Going back to mixed comms will slow them down.