Following the Sentinels’ defeat to 100 Thieves in the VCT Americas playoffs, Amine ‘johnqt’ Ouarid disclosed on social media that he had been enduring “extreme pain” during the critical match. This loss was pivotal for the Sentinels’ season, with their playoff match on July 17 determining whether they would advance in hopes of qualifying for Valorant Champions or conclude their 2024 season.
Prior to the match, there were already uncertainties surrounding the Sentinels’ roster. Rumors suggested the team might replace Gustavo ‘Sacy’ Rossi with Rahul ‘curry’ Nemani to allow Sacy time to grieve his dog’s death. Despite these rumors, Sacy played, but the Sentinels were defeated 2-0 by 100 Thieves. Post-match, johnqt shared that he too had been struggling with severe pain, which could have affected his performance.
“Sorry for disappointing it’s been a difficult week for us. I couldn’t play up to my standards. I was in extreme pain today, had to go to urgent care yesterday and I’m waiting on the results hoping everything is fine.” Johnqt posted on social media, noting he wasn’t making excuses for the loss but acknowledging that the team’s emotional and physical struggles likely impacted their performance.
The Sentinels are not out of the running for Valorant Champions 2024 yet. As they still have 12 championship points, which might be sufficient depending on the outcomes of the remaining VCT Americas playoffs.
The team had a strong start to the season, winning VCT Americas Kickoff and Masters Madrid. But their performance has declined in the latter part of the season. Missing the playoffs in VCT Americas Split 1 and failing to qualify for Masters Shanghai.