LOUD Saadhak said Marved leaving ex-OpTic core was a bigger blow than losing yay
Robert Paul/Riot GamesWhile watching Sentinels take on MIBR in Week 4 of VCT Americas, LOUD IGL Matias ‘Saadhak’ Delipetro said that Jimmy ‘Marved’ Nguyen moving on from the ex-OpTic Gaming core, which is now on NRG Esports, was a bigger loss for that team than Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker moving on to Cloud9.
While watching the new Sentinels lineup with Marved take its first win against MIBR, LOUD IGL Saadhak discussed Marved and his impact on the server. He said the current Sentinels lineup, with Marved in over Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo, looks good and that the team has players with great aim at every position.
The IGL pointed to Marved as a key player for Sentinels and said he was one of the better players on OpTic Gaming in 2022.
“Everybody talked a lot about yay but I always felt that Marved and Austin ‘crashies’ Roberts… They made a lot of difference on the game and I think Marved leaving the team affected them a little bit more than yay leaving, in my opinion,” Saadhak said.
Saadhak defeated Marved and Sentinels in Week 4 of VCT Americas 2-1, which was the first matchup between Saadhak and Marved since the Valorant Champions 2022 grand final. LOUD and OpTic Gaming faced off against each other six times in 2022 at international events as the Brazilian team defeated the North American squad in three of their six matchups. Both teams claimed international trophies in 2022.
Saadhak says Marved was more integral to OpTic’s 2022 success than yay
The LOUD IGL explained that he believes it is hard to find someone like Marved, who can have so much impact on the game as a Controller player or in a more supportive position. Saadhak compared Marved to his former teammate and current Sentinels player Bryan ‘pANcada’ Luna and DRX’s Kim ‘MaKo’ Myeong-kwan, who were both considered top players in their role in 2022.
“You know when someone is blessed by God? That you say, goddamn bro, like an Erick ‘aspas’ Santos type kind of person, that everything goes right for them. So it’s that, but smoke’s version,” Saadhak said.
Saadhak did give some praise to the player that replaced Marved on his old team, Sam ‘s0m’ Oh, but said that Marved, MaKo and also Fnatic’s Leo ‘Leo’ Jannesson are a level above in the way they can impact any given round.
The former OpTic Gaming core went on to sign for NRG Esports and currently has a 3-3 record in VCT Americas, while Sentinels and Marved are looking to break into the playoff conversations with a 2-4 record. yay, meanwhile, parted ways with Cloud9 and is competing in the North America Challengers league with Disguised.