Promising M80 Valorant team set to split up after failed Ascension run

M80’s entire Valorant roster has announced that they are unrestricted free agents going into the VCT offseason after the squad failed to win the VCT Americas Ascension promotion tournament.

M80 was one of the best Valorant rosters in the Americas Challengers League system. The squad was put together with pieces from various players that did not make it onto any VCT Americas franchised teams.

In the North American Challengers League, M80 routed most of the competition across both splits. The team went 4-1 in the first split’s group stage, and won the Mid-Season Face Off. In the second split, M80 went 4-1 again and placed first in the playoff stage which earned them a spot at VCT Americas Ascension tournament.

At Ascension, M80 placed second in their group and put together a lower bracket run to the grand final of the tournament before eventually losing to The Guard 3-1. The squad was one series win away from earning a spot for M80 in VCT Americas.

Today @M80gg has let me explore my options as a unrestricted F/A.

Willing to play Controllers/Sentinels and have solid experience to IGL. I’ve grown and learned alot throughout the season and feel I’m ready to play in franchised.

Business Inquires: enq@ocelotsports.com

— Zander (@zander_fps) July 25, 2023

Now, the entire team is set to explore free agency as the VCT offseason period is set to begin soon.

M80 allows Valorant players to explore free agency

Various M80 players put out posts on July 25 saying that they are now unrestricted free agents and will be exploring opportunities outside of M80 for 2024.

Regarding @M80gg Valorant – We appreciate and care about the players and coaches who built this team and program and want the best for their careers. Every one one of them is a Tier 1 player/coach and can compete at that level. They deserve any opportunity presented to them.…

— M80 Marco (@mfmereu) July 25, 2023

M80 founder and CEO Marco Mereu put out a statement of his own about the situation, saying the Valorant players “deserve any opportunity presented to them.”

“We hope to run it back as a unit but the players absolutely have a right to explore any opportunities they feel would be best for them if not with M80. They know how this program works because they built the blueprint. We will be back in Challengers next season with the same goal, same mentality and hopefully the same core,” Mereu said.

The M80 players are entering a crowded free agency period as other NA Challengers League organizations have released their rosters and multiple VCT Americas players have contracts expiring in 2023.

The offseason is set to begin after Valorant Champions 2023 concludes on August 26. The time period for free agency has yet to be announced.