The future of Disguised Toast’s involvement in professional VALORANT is even more unclear and uncertain now, following the creator’s announcement today that Disguised is releasing all their players and coach.
The official Disguised account tweeted that the decision is a result of the team’s relegation from the NA VALORANT Challengers league, as the team failed to reach playoffs and even get a chance at Ascension, then fell in two straight 0-2 series to OREsports and MAD Lions in the relegation bracket. By being relegated, the team would have had to qualify for Challengers again via the open qualifiers.
But it’s unclear whether Disguised will even return for the NA Challengers qualifiers in 2024. The organization’s announcement noted that Disguised will “re-evaluate the future of DSG in the VALORANT scene.” Even if DSG does end up competing in the 2024 NA Challengers qualifiers in some capacity, it will almost certainly be with an entirely new lineup.
The second split of the 2023 NA Challengers season was one of polar opposite results for the two creator-backed projects. Disguised made an all-star acqusition in former OpTic/Cloud9 superstar yay, but the team’s stark lack of cohesion manifested in a winless run the rest of the way. Moist Moguls on the other hand, backed by content creators MoistCr1TiKaL and Ludwig, made no mid-season roster moves but went undefeated in the second split group stage. At the time when Disguised released their roster, Moist Moguls were actively playing for the second NA spot at the Americas Ascension tournament.
Related: Sean Gares on Disguised relegation: ‘Some of the most disappointing games I’ve spectated’
With Disguised stepping back from VALORANT for now, both relegated teams from NA Challengers this year have released their entire rosters, with MAD Lions doing the same yesterday. Many in the tier two scene have expressed concerns about the long offseason between now and the start of next year, prompting Head of VALORANT esports Leo Faria to publicly commit to improving the Challengers experience.
