On the eve of the NA VCT Stage Three: Challengers One open qualifier, Team Envy made a last-minute roster move, acquiring Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen on loan from FaZe Clan. Marved will be inserted directly into the starting lineup, with Jake “kaboose” McDonald moving to a reserve spot.
Envy are considered one of the top teams in North America, with several deep runs in NA Challengers events under their belt, including Masters One and the Challengers Finals. Just a month after Envy entered VALORANT in July 2020, the team swapped out two original players for Victor Wong and Austin “crashies” Roberts after the two departed T1. The pair thrived under the leadership of in-game leader Pujan “FNS” Mehta as the team entered the top tier of NA VALORANT.
Prior to his loan to Envy, Marved stood as a prominent fixture of the FaZe roster that electrified the scene when they went on a hot streak to end VCT Stage One. The went on a run of wins from Challengers Three through Masters One, losing only to Sentinels in the process. Marved was the lone former dedicated CS:GO pro of the FaZe team dominated by primarily former Overwatch pro players, and provided a great deal of stability in the sentinel/controller role he played.
FaZe has reportedly been trialing several replacement players for Marved, including 100 Thieves reserve Quan “dicey” Tran, Hunter “BabyJ” Schline, and V1 Reykjavík stand-in Jamal “jammyz” Bangash. According to Upcomer’s George Geddes, BabyJ is the leading name among players who have trialed, although no official announcement from FaZe has been made yet.
Both Envy and FaZe will be participating in the open qualifiers beginning on July 1.
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