Introducing a new Valorant roster
With the start of a new year, a fresh competitive season is approaching. After the glorious University Esports Masters League of Legends competition in Alicante, which established Esports Team Twente as a competitive powerhouse in the Netherlands, we are thrilled to announce that our Valorant team is ready to step into the ring as well.
First introduced in 2020, the 5v5 tactical hero shooter established itself as one of the most popular FPS games in the industry. The game can be described as a mixture of other tactical shooters, such as CS:GO and Overwatch; an interesting combination that lures around 18 million monthly players into the game. Due to its rising popularity, the ETTeam founded its first Valorant team back in 2021, starting with players such as Glenn ‘Glenn’ Kuitert, and Nick ‘NiRaRoo’ Roodenburg, competing in the Champions Tour Europe Stage, Razer Invitational Europe, or The Valorant Regional League France: Revolution.
Scouting in September, performing in December: Strong Debut at national competitions
After two intense scouting rounds and individually reviewing the 25 highly skilled applicants, two main teams for the Esports Team Twente and Blueshell Esports were formed. After just 3 weeks of formation, the ETTeam entered the Red Bull Campus clutch, a prestigious global esports tournament for university students. Although the team did not make it past the national rounds, the team has been successful ever since. After rigorous training, vod-reviews and start discussions with the two high-skilled coaches Madelief Kanbier and Michal Rokita, the team participated in the playoffs for the DSL Valorant Student Skirmish, which were held on the 3rd week of December 2022.
Two Tournaments back to back
After a successful 13-5 in a BO1 on Haven, the team proved itself against the Breda guardians after their win in the lower bracket final. In a spectacular BO3, the ETTeam won 13-8 on Bind and 13-11 on Pearl. ‘Yesterday, we had a blast playing against this team, which allowed our players to be very creative’, says coach Madie in an interview. After the success of the first match, the team played another back to back match in the finals of the DSEAx Zephyr Valorant competition- and won the finals. ‘We wanted to prove that we are strong and able to come back from any loss. We can beat any team’, states Madie further. The recent competitions showed the amazing potential the new Valorant team has- with a fresh roster and two amazing coaches. The Players reaped the fruit of their labour and brought their A-game, which allowed the ETTeam to take the game home in a 2-0 fashion.
The new ETT Valorant roster for 22/23
‘Everybody in our team is super important and has a role to play’, says player coach Michal who looks confident into the season. One team member might be already known to some ETT fans- Thomas ‘Thompie’ van den Brink, an ETT CS:GO veteran, who decided to expand his knowledge and lead the Valorant team to success. As the main flasher-initiator, he proved himself as an excellent clutcher. His team spirit, intelligence, and creative plays pushes him and the team ahead in the upcoming tournaments. Dédé ‘Razoride’ Everkes is the main Duelist and IGL (In-Game Leader) in the team. As a player, he is passionate and brings good energy into the team. Consequently, he is the perfect fit to form the spear in the teams’ attacks and unites the team in-game. A great addition to the team is Stefan ‘MrSteef’ Veltmaat, who functions as the main smoker in the team. With his analytic mind and a passion for data analysis, he is willing to give his teammates the better opportunities, he will clutch in the game when needed. A novelty within ETT is Anna ‘M1stal’ Kostiuchenko, who is the first female competitive player within the whole of ETT. As the main initiator, she pushes and allows the team to get greater info around the map. Her good sense of humor, direction and discipline brings the team closer together. Lars ‘Łars’ Souilljee completes the roster as the main sentinel player. Known for his cracked aim and godlike teamplay skills, he is always there for the trade or hold the flank. Adding to the team spirit, he has an amazing game sense and humor that gets everyone closer together in- and outside of the game. The team is led by a coaching duo, consisting of Madelief ‘Madie’ Kanbier, the strategic coach behind the team, and Michal ‘udeyy’ Rokita, the esports team manager of the ETT and player coach.
The Future
With the new team, we did not only add a great and talented competitive team to our organization but also raised the bar within the Dutch competitive esports scene overall. In future, we hope to thrive on national and international stages likewise. We can be proud of all the organic, domestic, and rich talents the University of Twente has to offer. As a next step, our 5 explosive young talents and their coaches are ready to write history in the Dutch college leagues- and take the ETT to the next level. The next tournament is arriving soon: the team will compete in the trinity trials which started last week. We wish the team the best of success!
Are you interested in helping our competitive teams to thrive? Check out our open vacancies here or join or discord for more information about the Valorant team!