North American organization TSM has practiced without VALORANT player James “hazed” Cobb, multiple sources told Dot Esports.
The roster has played with former Sentinels player Eric “Kanpeki” Xu, and the organization is in discussions with his representatives, according to sources. Kanpeki was one of the options explored by Evil Geniuses to complete their ten-man roster, also, but this remains unlikely at the time of publication.
TSM has had a solid start to the Challengers season with a 1-1 record. The team’s first match against MAD Lions was a tough bout, with TSM coming out on top after a close third map on Ascent.
TSM almost won the first map against M80, one of the favorites to qualify for Ascension, but crumbled on the second. The eventual 2-0 defeat to M80 saw them drop to fourth place in Group B, just below Disguised. They have a 14-round deficit differential, while Disguised have plus seven rounds.
The matches will keep getting tougher for TSM: next up, they are set to face off against The Guard on Feb. 27. The Guard are top of the group without losing a single map in the two matches they have played against Disguised and OREsports, respectively.
Kanpeki was released from Sentinels last September following a disappointing showing at VCT Stage 2 Challengers, which concluded in June. Sentinels finished joint-last at the event alongside TSM. Sentinels failed to win a single match and won one map against Luminosity Gaming.