- The organization is in the middle of a transformation
- Zekken has already proven himself during his time with XSET
- He will be reunited with coach Don “SyykoNT” Muir
Continuing the trend of signing former XSET assets, Sentinels have brought aboard 17-year-old Zachary “zekken” Patrone.
Sentinels Add Zekken
Offseason in esports is a time for players to rest and then train some more and for organizations to make adjustments to the teams and acquire new players. Sentinels are doing just that, kicking off its offseason by signing Zachary “zekken” Patrone, formerly from XSET.
This signing marks yet another big change for Sentinels after they recently removed raukus as chief VALORANT coach, replacing him with Don “SyykoNT” Muir and Adam “kaplan” Kaplan. Interestingly, SyykoNT used to be in charge of the XSET VALORANT roster during 2020 and 2021, so the addition of zekken to the roster means the 17-year-old player will be reunited with his former coach.
The signing of the coach, and now the young player signifies the pattern showing that Sentinels have their eyes firmly on XSET’s roster. According to rumors, the organization is also keen to acquire XSET’s former in-game leader Rory “Dephh” Jackson, further strengthening the presence of XSET’s former assets in the Sentinels’ new strategy.
The Young Player Has Already Proved Himself
Sentinels’ signing of zekken should, perhaps, come to nobody’s surprise, as the organization is looking for established players with a promising future. Joining XSET in mid-2021, zekken has already proved himself by helping his former team finish fourth at the 2021 Stage 3 Challengers playoffs and the 2021 NA LCQ. He remained for 2022, as they finished fourth yet again at the 2022 Stage 1 Challengers.
However, XSET’s performance seemed to go downhill from there. Although having a mediocre-at-best performance in Denmark, the squad was looking towards Champions, but the team ended up placing 5th-6th. This prompted an exodus of talent from the team first by Cryocells joining 100 Thieves for the 2023 season. Zekken, XSET’s other duelist, quickly followed in the steps of his former colleague by leaving the team, only to sign with Sentinels.
With Sentinels signing former XSET members and looking to acquire more, the team seems to be in the middle of a transformation. Michael “shroud” Grzesiek, Tyson “TenZ” Ngo, Michael “dapr” Gulino and Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan all remain on the roster and will likely do so for the 2023 season. It’s not known if zekken’s signing will usher in “the beginning of a new era” as the announcement tweet said, but at least the young player will now have a new team to show his skills.
