cNed Turned Down Million-Dollar Offer To Leave Acend
Since winning the inaugural VALORANT Champions Tour 2021, Acend's glory has proved relatively short-lived, failing to qualify for the first Masters LAN of 2022.
The Turkish roster has frequently attracted criticism for their team composition which revolves around their in-game duelist Mehmet Yağız "cNed" İpek, and despite momentarily silencing the doubters with their VCT success, the 2022 calendar has refuelled the haters.
Now, Acend faces a roster re-shuffle, leaving much uncertainty around the future of European VALORANT's hottest prospect.
cNed Offered A Million-Dollar Exit From Acend
After failing to qualify for the VCT Masters currently taking place in Reykjavík, the Turkish organisation has already been preparing for the next stage by re-evaluating its roster. After over a year at the organisation as the original Acend squad, both Vladyslav "Kiles" Shvets and Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi have been removed from the team, although offers have also come in for cNed's signature too.
Singaporean VALORANT organisation Bleed eSports have offered cNed an exit from Acend worth $1 million, which has been declined.
Click to enlargeTaking to Twitter, in a now-deleted tweet, Bleed eSports' founder Mervyn Goh revealed that he offered the seven-figure sum to cNed, alongside some smaller, yet still huge offers, to other EMEA talents.
In another now-deleted tweet, cNed's brother and manager Alihan "deNc" İpek admitted that they could talk again in the future, but for now, cNed is sticking with Acend.
Bleed ESports Also Eye Other EMEA Players With Huge Figures
The Singaporean organisation has already convinced two Swedish players to head east, including former G2 Esports player Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi. Bleed also revealed that another ex-G2 player was in their crosshairs, making Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks the most expensive player in the region - although talks have fallen through.
Bleed revealed that the "Ardiis move would have cost us a total of 650K USD a for 1-year contract," which included a $250k signing bonus, $250k salary, and a $150k buyout from FunPlus Phoenix.
The organisation also re-signed top-calibre Singaporean talent Xavier "LEXY" Lee before he was called up for military service.
As for the future of cNed, it appears that he will be sticking with Acend through their rebuild period, although a change of region still remains on the cards, with many of NA's biggest orgs also waiting in the flanks to swoop in for the game's most celebrated Jett main.
