Sentinels in-game leader Shahzeb ‘ShahZaM’ Khan says that he was unaware that he was not part of the organization’s plans for 2023 prior to the report about their interest in two XSET players.
A report by Dot Esports late last evening revealed that Sentinels were beginning the overhaul of their Valorant squad for VCT 2023 with the double signing of XSET in-game leader Rory ‘Dephh’ Jackson and star player Zachary ‘zekken’ Patrone.
The impending arrival of Dephh all but confirms that Sentinels will move on from ShahZaM, whose contract runs out at the end of the year. Curiously, Dephh and ShahZaM were teammates for almost two years when they played CS:GO together for Complexity between April 2018 and October 2019.
ShahZaM was streaming right when the news broke, and he confessed to his viewers that he had not been made aware of Sentinels’ plans for next year.
“Well, guys, it looks like an article just came out,” he said. “Do you want to know the best part? I just found out with you, guys.
“Three years on the team and I find out like this.”
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According to the report, the rest of the Sentinels roster remains incomplete, with the organization having discussed “the additions of several new players.”
ShahZaM has been a part of Sentinels’ team since the North American organization entered Valorant, in April 2020. He led the team to victory in multiple domestic tournaments in 2020 and 2021 and to a trophy at the first international LAN event in Valorant, VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík.
On October 3, ShahZaM admitted that he struggled to deal with the criticism that accompanied the team’s slump this year. “I messed up responding to all the criticism,” he wrote on Twitter. “With all the negativity it became impossible to ignore; instead of owning up to it, I fed into it.”
Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo’s Sentinels future is up in the air at the moment, with his contract running out at the end of this year. Michael ‘dapr’ Gulino is still part of the active lineup, while Hunter ‘Sick’ Mims remains on extended leave, and Jared ‘zombs’ Gitlin is on the bench.
I want to clarify the situation with @ShahZaMk , on 9/21 I reminded him he did not have a contract for next season, we were most likely bringing in new coaches, they would decide the new roster and he was free to contact other teams. https://t.co/apT97BGQUB
— Rob Moore (@robmooreEsports) October 5, 2022
Sentinels CEO has since disputed ShaZaM’s account of the situation, saying that he had informed the player that the organization would bring in a new coaching staff which might choose new players.