Blowing it up or retooling? M80 VALORANT stars hit unrestricted free agency

The players are free to pursue tier-one opportunities.

M80 Koalanoob applauds the fans at VCT Americas Ascension.
Photo via VALORANT Brasil

About two weeks after coming up just short of reaching the VCT Americas League via Ascension, the M80 VALORANT roster has a currently undetermined future with the majority of its players entering unrestricted free agency.

Recommended Videos

Gianfranco “koalanoob” Potesti, Marc-Andre “NiSMO” Tayar, Mouhamed “johnqt” Ouarid, and Alexander “Zander” Dituri have all become unrestricted free agents, but they are not completely gone from M80 just yet. According to M80 founder Marco Mereu, the players and coaches are being given a chance to pursue any opportunity offered to them.

Related: Live VALORANT 2023 offseason tracker: Free agents, roster moves, and rumors for 2024 season

Mereu says all the players and coaches have been given this opportunity, however Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic has yet to post his free agent statement at time of writing. Mereu also confirmed M80 is not leaving VALORANT or the Challengers ecosystem.

The M80 founder and one of the player’s agents also confirmed to Dot Esports that the player’s status is unrestricted, meaning they are free to sign any offer made to them.

All three players noted in their free agency announcements that they are looking to play for a franchise roster at “the highest level,” meaning all three are targeting a spot on a partnered team in the VCT Americas League. Outside of M80’s main rival from this past year in eventual Ascension winners The Guard, who will likely remain intact, there are three NA teams in VCT Americas that missed out on Champions and could consider changes: Cloud9, 100 Thieves, and Sentinels.

Related: Pro VALORANT analysts have already picked out Sentinels’ next offseason pickup

Even if the players end up leaving M80 and taking tier-one opportunities with VCT teams, M80 will have no shortage of Challengers players to pick from. In the past month, several organizations competing in NA Challengers released their VALORANT rosters, including TSM, G2, and Disguised.

Author
Image of Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson
VALORANT lead staff writer, also covering CS:GO, FPS games, other titles, and the wider esports industry. Watching and writing esports since 2014. Previously wrote for Dexerto, Upcomer, Splyce, and somehow MySpace. Jack of all games, master of none.