Why VALORANT Needs The TSM V Sentinels Rivalry
Fnatic versus G2, Astralis versus Team Liquid, these are some of the most exciting and long-lasting rivalries in the history of esports. Still, for VALORANT, a game that’s only been out for two months, the TSM versus Sentinels rivalry is as fierce, as entertaining, and as monumental as all of the other existing ones in esports.
To put it quite simply, this is precisely what an esports title like VALORANT needs - a storyline that viewers inside and outside of the North American scene can latch onto.
Up to this point, the biggest and most-watched VALORANT tournaments in the world have been the Ignition Series, but with the lack of meaningful input and coordination from Riot Games, each and every Ignition Series has been somewhat different. Different tournament organisers have different ideas as to how these tournaments should be run. Therefore we’ve seen a variety of broadcasts, formats as well as participating teams and to an extent - players.
While the debacle of open qualifiers versus invitationals is a whole other issue, the scene overall hasn’t been the easiest to follow, with fans, journalists and pro players speaking out about the lack of clarity, organisation and thus narratives. Of course, certain teams are invited to every single big tournament. You see that with the likes of G2 in Europe and in the early days of the NA scene, TSM were considered, at one point, the undisputed best team in North America which had a lot to do with their consistency as well as a lack of challenge from the other teams.
TSM won five out of the six tournaments they took part in throughout June alone, and it’s worth noting that Sentinels were only present at one of these events. Moreover, a total of 40 teams participated in those tournaments, TSM played against 21 of them and only faced four teams T1, Immortals, China Nguyen, and Together We Are Terrific, more than once. In fact, the team they played the most times against in that period of time was Immortals, where TSM won all three of their encounters.
Sure, perhaps in another world, TSM and Immortals could have been great rivals. Still, the disparity between the two teams was pretty clear, and the players on Immortals have definitely been less vocal when it comes to the trash talk side, something that’s proven to be instrumental in the TSM Sentinels rivalry.
While TSM were winning everything they touched, Sentinels had a much slower start, but once they did start winning, they were doing it in style and more importantly, they were taking down TSM directly on their way to victory. It’s one thing to go on a good winning streak, but it’s an entirely different situation when you’re consistently beating TSM to get there.
In the space of two weeks, these two teams played each other a total of five different times across 13 maps with Sentinels winning eight of those maps - something that’s totally unprecedented in the competitive VALORANT scene. Out of all of the Ignition Series tournaments that’s taken place in North America so far, TSM and Sentinels are the only two teams that have managed to lift a trophy, with the most recent FaZe Invitational consisting of a TSM v Sentinels final.
Now, taking a look at the other VALORANT competitive scenes, the European Ignition Series have been exclusively won by G2, Absolute Jupiter has dominated Japan, and Team Launch is by far the strongest in Oceania. While the lack of competition isn’t a huge issue right now because the scene is still so young but if other esports titles are anything to go by, a lack of competition is extremely dangerous.
It’s not to say that G2 are the only good team in Europe, but the fact TSM and Sentinels can so consistently challenge and push each other means not only that any tournaments they both play will be extremely entertaining, but more importantly, they’re able to evolve, develop and get better as a result of the competition.
In League of Legends, NA and EU have traditionally been less sought out when it comes to talent and competition in comparison to the LCK and LPL. Still, ever since the rise of LEC teams on both the domestic and international stage, Europe has managed to excel in viewership as well as improve the rest of the league as a whole as well as creating new playstyles and metas.
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Quite frankly, without, high level of competition, it’s incredibly difficult for a region to develop from the top down. Moreover, in terms of viewership and fan base, a tournament right now that consists of TSM and Sentinels is bringing more entertainment, a better storyline, and better games in comparison to the other regions. Naturally, fans want to watch competitive games with entertaining narratives, and it’s no coincidence that the Upper Bracket finals of the FaZe Invitational attracted nearly 100,000 viewers and the TSM v Sentinels rematch in the finals peaked at 170,000. In comparison to the European Ignition Series, the Mandatory Cup’s most-watched game was between G2 and Dreamchasers which only peaked at 51,000 viewers.
Of course, it helps that the players on both TSM and Sentinels have taken to social media to add fuel to their rivalry fire, showcasing their friendly banter and trash talk skills that’s also been picked up by casters on-air as well as fans online. The back and forth between and during events adds another layer to the entertainment factor of the esport and is something that we quite frankly, haven’t seen in the other scenes. In fact, G2’s CEO Ocelot, presumably recognising the power of the rivalry, has taken to Twitter to literally call for other teams to challenge his roster.
With the way the competitive scene is currently developing, it’s definitely not out of the question for G2 to find their rival but for now, TSM and Sentinels are leading the way and the sooner more of these storylines develop, the better it will inevitably be for everyone.
Images via Sentinels | TSM
