T1 VALORANT is, for the time being, embracing the sixth-man trend with its newest addition. Fans of Overwatch and Overwatch League will certainly recognize Seonchang “ANS” Lee, a hitscan DPS machine from South Korea. ANS played for the San Francisco Shock in its 2020 championship season. He won five match MVPs that season, tied for fifth overall, and was an All-Star. The Shock went undefeated in the playoffs with ANS, winning six straight series between the NA playoffs and the Grand Finals.
A new org and a new game for the former Overwatch star. Image via T1.
ANS will look to join the ranks of other former Overwatch League pros finding success in VALORANT. This includes most of the FaZe Clan roster, including their star Jett player Andrej “babybay” Francisty and his teammate Ha “Spyder” Jung-woo. Spyder was also a hitscan DPS player renowned for his Widowmaker play. He played under the name Sayaplayer for Florida Mayhem. These two did not miss on the Overwatch server and could potentially play on the same team.
T1 stressed the importance of building an academy team presence in their announcement video and stated that ANS will take on the sixth-man role. The team will develop him over time before considering any roster moves. Coach David Denis retained that they are still “really confident” in their starting five. The starting five is still a work-in-progress after a plethora of changes in February. The team dropped both Braxton “brax” Pierce and Keven “AZK” Larivière. Then they added both Timothy “autimatic” Ta and Rahul “curry” Nemani from NA CS:GO.
The T1 VALORANT roster finally had a close chance at Masters when they advanced through the Challengers 3 open qualifiers. But they became the first of what would be many to fall during the FaZe Clan’s ongoing hot streak. T1 then lost to 100 Thieves despite taking Icebox with a dominant 13-1 scoreline.
ANS won’t feel the pressure to produce immediately in the sixth-man position, but his Overwatch skill is an indicator of his overall potential. He could very well become one of the best VALORANT players in the world, and at only 21 years old, he’s in no rush to win immediately. It’s important for T1 to look towards the future. Their IGL Sam “DaZeD” Marine is 31 years old, and Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham is 27. They have the talent to potentially win now in the second phase of VCT and compete at a high level for years to come.
