Despite leaving Sentinels during its first season in the new franchised version of the VALORANT Champions Tour, its old head coach is back in the VALORANT sphere, now overseeing a rising North American team of his own.
Former Sentinels and XSET head coach Don “SyykoNT” Muir has been announced as M80’s Vice President of Esports, set to oversee the VALORANT team as they attempt to win Ascension in Brazil and make it to the franchised league.
While his more well-known experience in the esports scene is for his coaching, he will be overseeing all of M80’s esports efforts across games like VALORANT, Rainbow Six: Siege, and Street Fighter. Plus, this is a bit of a reconnection for SyykoNT, as the founder and CEO of M80, Marco Mereu, was also the co-founder and COO of XSET until M80’s founding in August 2022.
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“Don has a rich track record building and leading championship-caliber esports teams, and his addition to M80 will ensure our continued competitive dominance,” Mereu said to the media. “M80 has quickly cemented itself as a top esports organization, and Don’s ability to spot and support talent will help us thrive in our current titles while also successfully entering new ones.”
SyykoNT’s success on XSET was notable, helping the team not only improve but finish at a top-six position at Champions 2022. The 2023 season was aiming to be a big step up in popularity, joining Sentinels as its head coach and overseeing the integration of some big off-season signings. Those included Brazilian stars Bryan “pANcada” Luna and Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi, as well as former XSET players Rory “dephh” Jackson and Zachary “zekken” Patrone.
He was around for six months until the overall poor team performances led to some internal changes, including his departure. Now, he’s back, but with an even bigger role for an esports team than before.
“It’s been inspiring watching M80’s standout success this year, and I’m looking forward to working alongside Marco again and playing a part in the organization’s growth,” Muir said. “M80 is approaching pivotal moments across its teams and my sights are set on nothing but setting our squads up for success.”
M80’s next big step with SyykoNT at the helm is for their VALORANT team, competing at the VCT Ascension Americas tournament in Brazil, starting on June 30.
