End-of-season player trading has the potential to shake up any league, and the VALORANT Champions Tour is no different. With deals being made and players hopping between teams left and right as the franchising spot drama continues apace, it can be hard to keep track of every move and its potential ramifications—but Team Liquid may just have acquired a powerful player for their next season roster.
Although meteoric up-and-comer Georgio “Keiko” Sanassy has been courted by several VCT EMEA teams, according to sources like Valorant insider Alejandro “anonimotum” Gomis, and he has reportedly accepted a tentative verbal agreement with Dutch heavyweight Team Liquid for the 2023-2024 season. It’s important to stress here that the agreement is verbal—no contract has been signed, and no money has changed hands as of yet, meaning that Keiko could technically still change his mind and go with another offer.
After his performance in VCT Ascension, it makes sense that there are a lot of eyes on Keiko, but Team Liquid seeking out fresh talent for next season is hardly a surprise in itself. They’re losing both Dom “soulcas” Sulcas, who’s striking out for himself as a free agent, and Saif “Sayf” Jibraeel, who’s making the leap over to Team Vitality, so making up for that significant deficit is likely their top priority. Whether (relatively) young blood like Keiko can fill those shoes remains to be seen, but his record is nothing to sneeze at. Even so, I’d keep an eye out for more new signings from Team Liquid, as no longer having Sayf is a major blow to their VCT prospects.
Whatever Team Liquid does next, Keiki is still a fairly significant get—if, indeed, this verbal agreement is honored. Who knows—he may decide to surprise us all and go back to The Goose House.
