LOUD Saadhak slams pre-Valorant Champions rumors: “They did us dirty”
Liu YiCun/Riot GamesLOUD captain Matias ‘Saadhak’ Delipetro has lambasted the flurry of rumors involving the team that came right before Valorant Champions 2023.
Less than two weeks before the start of Valorant Champions, LOUD’s team found itself at the center of a storm following rumors of a rift between star player Erick ‘aspas’ Santos and the rest of the squad.
Saadhak immediately responded to the speculation by stating that the team was “united and focused” on Champions, but that didn’t stop aspas’ name from being linked with other VCT Americas teams, with Sentinels and NRG both reportedly after the duelist’s services.
Despite all the noise, LOUD acquitted themselves well in Los Angeles and placed third, surpassing expectations. They twice beat Fnatic — exacting revenge for the defeat in the VCT LOCK//IN final — and took eventual champions Evil Geniuses to all five maps in a thrilling lower bracket final.
Speaking on his stream after the event, Saadhak said that he was made “really sad” by all the speculation that came as the team was preparing for Champions.
“None of it [what was rumored] existed, they really did our team dirty,” he said. “I was very pissed.
“They created rumors out of nowhere. That aspas had gotten into a fight with Less, that aspas was talking to another team. For fuck’s sake, we were just practicing. I talked to aspas, and he said he didn’t know anything, that he hadn’t even talked to LOUD.
“These supposed leakers said that he had talked to LOUD and he hadn’t. Very weird. And all of a sudden they stopped, right? There were no more rumors. Why is that? Was it to remove our focus? Annoying, very annoying.”
Shortly after the loss to Evil Geniuses, LOUD head coach Daniel ‘fRoD’ Montaner was asked about the team’s future. He said that he would prefer that the lineup stay together. “Sometimes, changing rosters, changing staff, is not the solution,” he said.