G2 Valorant coach says roster changes may be inevitable

Neil ‘neilzinho’ Finlay, the head coach of G2 Esports’ Valorant division, has said that the team could undergo roster changes in the off-season due to role clashes.

G2 have been strongly linked with roster changes in recent weeks after failing to qualify for Valorant Champions, the end-of-the-year event that Riot Games will host.

After a convincing semi-final run at the VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin event, G2’s form fell away, with the team finishing third in the EMEA last-chance qualifier for Valorant Champions, behind Liquid and Guild Esports.

Žygimantas ‘nukkye’ Chmieliauskas then hinted at leaving G2, revealing on his stream that he would not be playing in 2022 if “a certain person” stayed on the team.

G2 ended the season on a disappointing note, exiting the Red Bull Home Ground #2 tournament in the group stage without a single victory following losses to Team Liquid, Futbolist and BIG.

neilzinho addresses team’s issues

Appearing on Spanish community figure Lembo6’s Twitch channel, neilzinho commented on a variety of topics, including the possibility of G2 undergoing roster changes ahead of 2022.

The British coach expressed his dislike for roster changes, but he admitted that the current setup is less than optimal because of role clashes in the team.

(Timestamp starts at 02:27:15 for mobile viewers)

“As a coach, I hate changing players,” he said. “We’ve made four changes, five changes, it’s really hard to work with that. For me, the most important thing is stability.

“But with the roles that we have right now, it’s hard. Someone needs to make a big sacrifice and play a role that maybe they don’t want to play. It’s going to be hard with this team if there isn’t a change.

“But as a coach, I don’t want to make any more changes. I just want to work with five players who have the same goal and the same motivation, which is to be the best team.

“Whatever happens in G2 for 2022, it’s going to be the best for everyone.”

According to French journalist Guillaume ‘neL’ Canelo, Jose Luis ‘koldamenta’ Aranguren Herrero and Wassim ‘keloqz’ Cista could be the players on the chopping block.

NeL added that G2 are currently looking at players from Giants Gaming, who finished in third place in the Red Bull Home Ground tournament, to replace the outbound members of their squad, with trials expected to start “soon”.

Neilzinho has since revealed on Twitter that he is looking for “a new home” for 2022, with his G2 contract set to expire at the end of December.

His announcement came just one day after G2 parted ways with analyst Lucas Rojo, who had been on the staff since April.