Sentinels (esports)
Formerly | Phoenix1 |
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Company type | Private |
Industry | Esports |
Founded | 2016 |
Headquarters | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
Key people |
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Parent | P1 Esports, LLC |
Divisions | |
Website | Official website |
Sentinelsis an Americanesportsorganization based inLos Angeles,California. The organization was founded as theLeague of LegendsteamPhoenix1and competed in theNorth American League of Legends Championship Series(NA LCS). In June 2018, Phoenix1 rebranded to Sentinels. The company currently fields teams inValorant,Apex Legends,andHalo.
History
[edit]Phoenix1 was founded in May 2016 as aLeague of Legendsteam to compete in theNorth American League of Legends Championship Series(NA LCS). After the NA LCS became afranchisedleague, Phoenix1 sold its LCS spot. Following, Phoenix1 partnered withKroenke Sports & Entertainment(KSE) to launch theirOverwatch Leaguefranchised teamLos Angeles Gladiatorsfor the video gameOverwatch.After successfully launching theOverwatchteam, the company rebranded to Sentinels in June 2018.[2]Sentinels opened two new divisions in 2018; in June 2018, they enteredHearthstoneesports, and the following month, they began theirFortnitedivision.[3]
In August 2019, Sentinels co-founder and CEORob Moorefiled alawsuitagainst KSE; Moore alleged that KSE purchased the organizationEcho Foxwithout his knowledge.[4]Following the suit, Sentinels split with KSE, leaving the latter as the sole owner of the Gladiators.[5]
In February 2020, Sentinels expanded into the competitiveHaloscene.[6]Two months later, they established theirValorantdivision.[7]
Divisions
[edit]Valorant
[edit]Sentinels began theirValorantdivision in April 2020, signing formerOverwatchplayerJay "sinatraa" Wonand formerCounter-Strike: Global OffensiveplayersShahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan,and Hunter "SicK" Mims, as well as bringing in Jared "zombs" Gitlin from theirApex Legendsdivision.[7]In June 2020, they rounded out their roster with the signing of Michael "dapr" Gulino.[8]After sinatraa was suspended in 2021, Sentinels acquiredTyson "TenZ" Ngoon loan fromCloud9in March of that year for Valorant Challengers Stage 1 and 2.[9]Sentinels won the first international event in theValorantcompetitive scene,VALORANT Champions Tour2021: Stage 2 Masters – Reykjavík, without losing any map points.[10]In June 2021, Sentinels fully acquired TenZ from Cloud9, buying out his contract.[11]In September 2021, Sentinels finished 5th–8th place at the Valorant Champions Tour Stage 3: Masters Berlin after a defeat toTeam Envy.[12]
Sentinels signed Matt "Weltis" Liu as their analyst on July 22, 2022.[13]On September 21, 2022, Sentinels was selected as a partner by Riot Games to compete in the Valorant Champions Tour Americas League for 2023.[14]Sentinels overhauled their entire Valorant roster by letting go ofShahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan,Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro,Michael "shroud" Grzesiek,and Eric "Kanpeki" Xu and replacing them with formerXSETplayers, Zachary "zekken" Patrone and in-game leader Rory "dephh" Jackson, as well as2022 Valorant Championswinners Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi and Bryan "pANcada" Luna. Sentinels also let go of their head coach Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty and replaced him with Don "SyykoNT" Muir as head coach and Adam "kaplan" Kaplan as a strategic coach.[15][16]On March 13, 2023, Sentinels announced the signing of formerOpTic Gamingplayer Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen, as a substitute.[17]On April 17, 2023, SyykoNT announced his departure, promoting kaplan to head coach and Drew "DrewSpark" Spark-Whitworth as assistant coach.[18]On May 9, 2023,Tyson "TenZ" Ngoreturned to the active roster following a wrist injury.[19]Following his return, dephh was let go and later replaced with Marved, who would compete with Sentinels for the remainder of the season as their in-game leader. Sentinels did not qualify for the Americas League playoffs, forcing them to compete in the Americas Last Chance Qualifier for2023 Valorant Champions— of which they were then eliminated by Leviatán, putting their season to an end.[20]
On September 13, 2023, Sentinels announced the signing of in-game leader Mohamed "johnqt" Ouarid.[21]One day later, Sentinels re-signed Zellsis, now as their substitute player.[22]Following the signing of Zellsis, Sentinels began a series of multiple off-season events culminating in their participation in the "AfreecaTV Valorant League" in Seoul, South Korea where they finished 1st place after beating Paper Rex.[23]This was the last off-season event they participated in ahead of the 2024 season. As of February 9, 2024, Sentinels have moved pANcada to the bench and promoted Zellsis to the starting roster.[24]
In the onset of the 2024 season, Sentinels beat outLOUD3-2 in the grand final of the Americas Kickoff and qualified forMasters Madrid.Their performance in Madrid earned them a spot in the grand final; on March 24, 2024, they defeatedGen.G3-2 in the grand final, earning the organization their second Masters trophy (and becoming the only organization to do so).[25]As well, TenZ becomes the second player to have won two Masters titles, and Sacy becomes the first player to have won both a Champions and a Masters title.
Sentinels had a poor record in the subsequent Americas Stage 1, missing out on playoffs and being unable to qualify toMasters Shanghai.However, in the wake of Americas Stage 2, Sentinels recovered their performance and qualified for the playoffs; despite being eliminated early, they narrowly qualified toVCT Champions 2024from having accumulated the most Championship Points across the season. In the Champions 2024 group stage, after a rematch loss to tournament favorites Gen.G, they went on to defeatFunPlus Phoenixand later defeated Gen.G by a score of 2-0, eliminating the favorites and clinching their spot in the playoffs. They began their playoff run with a win againstDRX,but in the ensuing loss to eventual tournament winnersEDward Gaming,whom they were assumed slightly favored to win against, Sentinels were sent to the lower bracket to face off againstFnatic.After a close 2-1 victory to FNATIC, Sentinels' run ended in the Top 4 as Team Heretics eliminated them 2-1 in the lower bracket.
On September 14, 2024,TenZannounced his retirement fromValorantcompetitive play after over four years of competing, removing his spot from the active roster.[26]The following day, Sacy announced his retirement.[citation needed]Later that month, Sentinels signed Reduxx for the 2024 Red Bull Home Ground NA Qualifier, and Sentinels' substitute player, Rahul "curry" Nemani, would join the active roster for this event.[27]They were eliminated by Cloud9 and did not qualify to the main event.
On October 7, 2024, Sentinels announced Marshall "N4RRATE" Massey and Sean "bang" Bezerra to the starting roster. The former had previously played forKarmine Corp,while the latter hails from100 Thieves.On October 11th, Reduxx was officially signed as Sentinels' 6th man.
Current roster
[edit]SentinelsValorantroster | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Adam "kaplan" Kaplan | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Rosterupdated October 7, 2024. |
Halo
[edit]Sentinels entered theHaloscene in February 2019, signing Halo veterans, previously of TOX Gaming, consisting of Paul "SnakeBite" Duarte, Tony "LethuL" Campbell Jr., Bradley "aPG" Laws, and Mathew "Royal2" Fiorante, with Chris "Royal1" Fiorante, as their coach.[28]In October 2020, Sentinels announced the signing of Bradley "Frosty" Bergstrom, a two-time Halo World Championship winner.[29]
On January 13, 2023, SnakeBite, Royal2, Frosty, and Royal1 departed the organization. On the same day, Sentinels signed Kahari "Kuhlect" Miller, Tyler "Spartan" Ganza, Nick "KingNick" Panzella, and Kyle "Chig" Lawson.[30]Exactly three months later, Kuhlect is released from the active roster,[31]and a few days later on April 17 the organization signs Ayden "Suspector" Hill.[32]A few months later on June 23, Suspector and KingNick depart the team, and Sentinels pick up Jesse "bubu dubu" Moeller and Michael "Falcated" Garcia.[33][34]
Current roster
[edit]SentinelsHaloroster | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Kyle "Chig" Lawson | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Rosterupdated February 22, 2024. |
Former divisions
[edit]League of Legends
[edit]This sectionneeds expansion.You can help byadding to it.(April 2019) |
For Phoenix1's inaugural season, the team signed top laner Derek "zig" Shao, jungler Rami "Inori" Charagh, Sang-ook "Ryu" Yoo, bot laner Dong-hyeon "Arrow" No, and support Adrian "Adrian" Ma.[35]
Fortnite
[edit]In July 2018, Sentinels began theirFortnitedivision after signing the players of the North American team TT. Included in the signings were Owen "Animal" Wright, Jaden "rieo" Leis, Mike "mikeqt" DeMarco, and Cayden "Carose" Bradford.[3]In March 2019, Sentinels signedKyle "Bugha" Giersdorf.[36]On December 29, 2022, Sentinels announced their exit from competitiveFortnite.[37]
References
[edit]- ^"Sentinels Management".sentinels.gg.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^Hollingsworth, David (June 7, 2018)."Former North American LCS organisation Phoenix1 rebrands to Sentinels".Esports Insider.RetrievedApril 8,2019.
- ^abByers, Preston (July 12, 2018)."Sentinels sign Fortnite: Battle Royale team".Dot Esports.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^Wolf, Jacob (August 1, 2019)."Sentinels CEO sues Kroenke Sports & Entertainment over Echo Fox purchase".ESPN.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^Hayward, Andrew (September 18, 2019)."Report: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment Splits with Sentinels for LA Gladiators Management".The Esports Observer.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^Geracie, Nick (February 17, 2020)."Sentinels enters Halo competitive scene; signs former TOX Gaming roster".InvenGlobal.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^abAlford, Aaron (April 29, 2020)."Sentinels Announce VALORANT Team".Hotspawn.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^"Sentinels sign dapr to complete Valorant team".Reuters.Field Level Media. June 2, 2020.RetrievedJune 21,2021.
- ^Robertson, Scott (June 1, 2021)."Sentinels reportedly acquires TenZ in 7-figure buyout from Cloud9".Dot Esports.RetrievedJune 1,2021.
- ^Gursoy, Eren Merdan."Sentinels Becomes The Best Team In Valorant".Archived fromthe originalon May 31, 2021.RetrievedJune 1,2021.
- ^"Breaking: Sentinels Complete Purchase of Ngo's Contract from Cloud9 – The Esports Observer".June 1, 2021.RetrievedJune 2,2021.
- ^"Valorant Masters Berlin Playoffs: Scores, Streams, Schedule & More".EarlyGame.RetrievedNovember 2,2021.
- ^"Sentinels add new analyst, ShahZaM calls him their 'secret weapon' | ONE Esports".www.oneesports.gg.July 22, 2022.RetrievedNovember 13,2022.
- ^"Introducing the VCT Americas International League".Valorant Esports.September 21, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 22,2022.
- ^"Sentinels add former XSET IGL dephh to Valorant roster | ONE Esports".www.oneesports.gg.October 19, 2022.RetrievedNovember 13,2022.
- ^"Sentinels officially sign Valorant champions Sacy & pANcada | ONE Esports".www.oneesports.gg.October 16, 2022.RetrievedNovember 13,2022.
- ^"Mans is a Sentinel now".x.com.RetrievedJanuary 25,2024.
- ^"I am no longer Head Coach of Sentinels".x.com.RetrievedJanuary 25,2024.
- ^"TenZ is back on the main roster as his replacement, as previously announced".Twitter.RetrievedMay 10,2023.
- ^"Champions Tour 2023: Americas Last Chance Qualifier".vlr.gg.RetrievedJanuary 25,2024.
- ^"The whole world wondered, now the secret's out @1johnqt is officially your Sentinels IGL".Twitter.RetrievedSeptember 13,2023.
- ^"spreadsheets didn't catch this one".x.com.RetrievedJanuary 25,2024.
- ^"Sentinels go on an undefeated run at the AfreecaTV Valorant League".Dexerto.December 10, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 22,2024.
- ^Melo, Ricardo Vaz de (February 9, 2024).""(Ansioso) pra quê? Eu não vou jogar", diz pANcada sobre Kickoff ".VALORANT Zone(in Brazilian Portuguese).RetrievedFebruary 22,2024.
- ^Stubbs, Mike."Sentinels Win The $500,000 'Valorant' Masters Madrid Tournament".Forbes.RetrievedApril 5,2024.
- ^"I'm grateful for this incredible journey, and it's time to start a new one. Thank you for your support!".x.com.September 14, 2024.RetrievedSeptember 14,2024.
- ^@Sentinels (September 27, 2024)."The Red Bull Home Ground roster is locked"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"SENTINELS SIGN HALO WORLD CHAMPIONS".SENTINELS.RetrievedOctober 23,2022.
- ^"LEGENDARY HALO PLAYER FROSTY TO COMPETE IN HALO INFINITE, JOINS SENTINELS".SENTINELS.RetrievedOctober 23,2022.
- ^"LIVE: HCS 2023 Rostermania hub: all roster changes".Dexerto.January 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 22,2024.
- ^"Restricted F/A, thank you SEN for the opportunity".Twitter.
- ^"Can't wait to get to work with these guys! Excited for the opportunity to be teaming with these goats and representing @Sentinels".Twitter.
- ^"Joined @Sentinels🤓".Twitter.
- ^"Joined @Sentinels😁".Twitter.
- ^Volk, Pete."Phoenix1 signs Ryu, Arrow, completing 2017 roster".The Rift Herald.RetrievedFebruary 18,2017.
- ^"Sentinels Sign Bugha".Sentinels.March 25, 2019.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
- ^Snavely, Adam (December 28, 2022)."Sentinels abandons competitive Fortnite, leaving a former world champ teamless".Dot Esports.RetrievedDecember 31,2022.
External links
[edit]- Former League Championship Series (esports) teams
- Defunct and inactive Super Smash Bros. player sponsors
- 2016 establishments in California
- Esports teams established in 2016
- Halo (franchise) teams
- Esports teams based in the United States
- Esports teams based in Los Angeles
- Valorant teams
- Apex Legends teams
- Fortnite teams