After two years of a set competitive format, Riot has finally decided to take the route of ‘Franchising’ wherein 10 teams each from three regions (Americas, EMEA, Pacific), will compete against each other in a closed circuit. This type of system hurts esports players since they now have to compete for a very limited amount of slots in the franchised teams.

Here is the list of five North American Valorant players who did not make it to franchising. Keep in mind this list is based on ongoing talks and rumors.

5 NA Valorant pros who will not play for a franchised org in VCT 2023 season

1) dapr

Michael “dapr” is an American esports player who made his way from CS:GO to Valorant as a part of the popular North American esports team Sentinels. dapr started out in the role of a Sentinel but has been able to switch out to play Controller and Initiator, which made him a very flexible player.

Despite a disappointing run of Sentinels in 2022, dapr was able to perform consistently in every game and clutch up when needed. Due to Franchising, which led to roster changes, dapr was asked to be a sub for the team. However, that, unfortunately, didn’t end up happening.

2) Will

William “Will” is a Canadian esports player who was part of the newly revamped 100 Thieves roster. The star player fulfilled the role of primary Duelist and also played Chamber in certain maps. The new roster gelled well and even ended up winning the North American Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ), beating The Guard (3-0) and making their way to VCT Champions

Despite the 2022 Valorant Champions being Will’s first Valorant LAN and 100 Thieves’ early loss, he performed pretty well. When Franchising hit, a lot of players became Free Agents, including one of the top-performing NA players, “Cryocells.”

100 Thieves saw this as an opportunity to add more firepower to their roster and ended up replacing Will with Cryo, making him the only person on the roster who didn’t make it to the franchising.

3) babybay

Andrej “babybay” is an American esports player who currently plays for the Valorant roster of FaZe Clan. babybay fulfilled the role of a primary Duelist in the team and is known for his hyper-aggressive Jett and Neon plays. He is considered one of the best Jett players in NA

FaZe Clan saw a complete change in the roster recently and was still able to compete against other top NA teams. babybay meshed with his new team very well and put up some big numbers. Unfortunately, FaZe Clan did not make it to the franchising, leaving babybay out of the closed circuit.

4) trent

Trent “trent” is an American esports player who currently plays for The Guard. The team exploded into the scene with a cracked team, with trent being at the forefront of it. He fulfilled the role of an Initiator in his team for the most part and was able to put up some big numbers with his insane mechanical aim.

The Guard even ended up winning the NA Stage One Challengers to make their way to the Masters in Reykjavik. While it might not have worked out for The Guard but Trent ended up becoming one of the most popular players in the Valorant scene.

Ever since Franchising, he has yet to be picked up by any franchised organization and reports have stated that he will be re-signing with The Guard in the near future.

5) ShahZaM

Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan is an American esports player who played for the Sentinels team. ShahZaM was part of the Sentinels’ Valorant roster since the beginning and was the team’s in-game leader (IGL). He initially fulfilled the role of a Duelist but later with the addition of TenZ, he shifted to the role of an Initiator.

With his cracked aim and infectious laugh, ShahZam brought some big wins for the team early on. Sentinels won their first international Valorant LAN in Reykjavik under his leadership.

He went on to become one of the most popular players in the world. In Franchising, the team attempted to revamp their roster due to previous results, leaving ShahZaM out of the team.

Franchising has caused a big shift in all the rosters. NA has already seen the departure of a lot of organizations from Valorant because of it. The unfranchised players can now only hope to get into the remaining organizations and compete in Ascension league. A lot of incredible talent might be unused but all we can do is hope for the best.

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