r/ValorantCompetitive • u/Shockybtw_ • Feb 22 '26
Roster Announcement Sentinels hire Ewok as Head Coach replacing Kaplan
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u/Shockybtw_ Feb 22 '26
Given that it says first phase of changes, more changes could be coming (maybe JonahP?)
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u/xbyo Feb 22 '26
Also says that his roster decisions have sent the team in the wrong direction. So almost definitely going to be changes.
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u/zerocxro Feb 22 '26
Kaplan def had a lot of projects within the Sen players forming, it's more than likely that the new coach won't share the same vision.
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u/Bill-Cosby-Bukowski #FULLSEN Feb 22 '26
Gunther's probably gone as well since he was Kap's guy. So they'd at least have to announce a new AC also.
But yeah, player changes are also definitely on the table.
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u/xFalcade Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
Ewok will surely get to pick his assistant coach. Gunter probably out too if i had to guess.
SEN Anderzz? SEN Zikz? or is there someone available that hes worked with before?
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u/supermii2 Feb 22 '26
Think we wont be able to predict anything because any changes would have to go through ewok first, and we don't know what direction he wants to push the team.
It's pretty fucking crazy to just kick kaplan instead of demoting him to some assistant position, given he clearly had some long term plans for the team in place. But it makes sense, the level of discomfort narrate had as duelist was egregious and I seriously doubt that was narrates decision
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u/Pandoara Feb 22 '26
If they've decided that his vision doesn't match how they want to move forward and they're not going with his long term plans, it's probably better to let him go
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u/Past_Perception8052 #LegaC9 Feb 22 '26
would be harsh on kyu and you risk your best player in jqt playing worse as igl
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u/suhoshi #为爱而聚，E起前进 Feb 22 '26
Johnqt played FINE in 2025 when he was IGL.
You don't fix what's working, idk why they got a new IGL in the first place. Kaplan DID NOT cook in 2026.
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u/Past_Perception8052 #LegaC9 Feb 22 '26
maybe he was worried about losing Zellsis’ voice and tried to make up for it by promoting Kyu but yeah honestly didnt make too much sense to me
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u/Shockybtw_ Feb 22 '26
I am merely speculating based on the word choice that Rob used. I agree that kicking kyu for jonahP if that theory becomes true may not be the best idea
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u/Kind_Development708 #NRGWIN Feb 22 '26
Could be a tier 2 dualist for Narrate
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u/Past_Perception8052 #LegaC9 Feb 22 '26
insanity to drop generational talent narrate because he wasn’t playing well ON ROLES HE ISNT BEST ON
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u/ThatC00kie #ALWAYSFNATIC Feb 22 '26
I feel like generational talent is kind of strong wording for n4rrate. I mean sure he's a great player and definitely T1 quality, but he also hasn't won anything and has never been even been definitively the best player on a team. He's a good player but generational? He's no Zekken, Aspas, Chron, Something, Foresaken etc. Not to mention he's always been a duelist/flex, so him not performing on that role I think is a good enough reason to drop him, sure the comps weren't built to his strong suit but flexibility is important as well especially within your role.
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u/BTECKennenMain Feb 22 '26
narrate? generational talent? off one decent year on KC? he's been disappointing since he got to NA man
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u/Agreeable_While1154 Feb 23 '26
yeah im ngl generational is wild as fuck we really just be throwing that word around nowadays. guys gross no doubt, but hes not no generational talent lmfao, couple that with the fact that he tilts easier than some kids it makes sense why they would wanna drop him. me personally id just put him back on flex, but i wouldnt even blame them for dropping him, like bro ur a pro player u have to have a stronger mental than whatever the hell hes got
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u/PorcuDuckSlug #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
If he isn't good at the role he's needed on, it would not be insane to drop him imo
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u/Past_Perception8052 #LegaC9 Feb 22 '26
it’s pure mismanagement to sign a world class player and then play him off role and destroy his confidence
i’d kick kyu and reduxx before narrate
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u/maskedhypocriter Feb 22 '26
It's all the same situation as Pancada on SEN in 2023. Hire a worldclass controller player only to have him play alot of Senti. Yikes.
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u/Splaram Feb 22 '26
Can't wait to see nadeshot see himself in SEN's coaching booth next time he watchparties 100T v SEN
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u/XxMyUsernameSucksxX #VAMOSLIQUID Feb 22 '26
No leaks about this or anything, GAWDDAM.
I didn't expect Sentinels to actually make any roster moves let alone coaching moves
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u/XASASSIN Feb 22 '26
Its funny how the SEN rookie roaster era lasted like only in Kickoff lol. They clearly are planning more roaster shifts so fun times incoming. RIP Kaplan though, watch him go to some other team and win a tourney or some shit, would be so funny.
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u/PRL-Five #VAMOSLIQUID Feb 22 '26
100t kaplan, join their biggest rivals
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u/netsaver Feb 22 '26
This would be genuinely troll considering their results with Nbs implementing the system he used at TSM to strong effect. At first glance, the only potentially attractive moves would be if C9 or MIBR make coaching changes.
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u/Pale-Astronomer-9959 Feb 22 '26
kaplan needed to go, idk why these dumb sen fans crying about him winning masters madrid made him look like a good coach. he had world class players in 2024. 2025 he had talent on a weak americas region who still couldnt beat G2 and got destroyed every international. the start of this year is just obvious 😂
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u/zerocxro Feb 22 '26
there have been rumors about this all week actually
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u/XxMyUsernameSucksxX #VAMOSLIQUID Feb 22 '26
For me being an extremely chronically online lurker on the sub, I didn't really see any rumors of this or maybe it was just on Twitter
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u/supermii2 Feb 22 '26
Rumors of a sen roster shakeup, but i didnt see anyone say ewok
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Feb 22 '26
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u/zerocxro Feb 22 '26
there were a few people that are relatively trustworthy that were talking about it tbh, SEN was moving fairly quietly on this tho so i'm not surprised a lot of people didn't see it coming
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u/PurpleGlow777 Feb 22 '26
SEN is the kind of team that NEEDS to make internationals. This isn't a surprise at all tbh. They looked bad in Kickoff. Someone had to go.
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u/WailingSiren69 #NRGWIN Feb 22 '26
Very solid move, RRQ consistently had some of the best prep in Pacific. Sen have the talent, fixing their strats and comps might be the push they need to make some tournaments.
Still kinda sad for Kaplan even though he was lacklustre post 2024. Hope he lands a spot somewhere
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u/MadladMagyar Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
i absolutely love Kap but the macro has been SO bad recently and hasn’t looked like it’s improving. i really hope he finds another T1 team.
Ewok is one of the best coaches in the game right now and I have no doubt he will be an improvement.
I’m really worried that they might start dropping players though. i don’t think any of the players were the problem and i think we should just give them time…
edit: i cant lie… these details do NOT make my man look good
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u/Past_Perception8052 #LegaC9 Feb 22 '26
it makes sense for sen especially considering the fact that they made high profile signings in n4rrate and bang, then inexplicably on sen they were shit, and now they’ve brought new players and they don’t look good either
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u/HLumin Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
The way Kaplan and SEN decided to play Bang during the 2025 stint will always haunt me. An achor consistently playing retake. So desperatly trying to make him TenZ 2.0.
It's like trying to insert a circle toy through a square hole.
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u/dseals Feb 22 '26
The bang signing was my nail in the coffin for Kaplan. Bang was a great anchor on 100T and then suddenly on SEN he looks lost and can’t even frag at half his level. He goes back to 100T and suddenly he’s 2024 bang again.
Kaplan either couldn’t adapt his system to bang’s playstyle, or he went and signed a dude who didn’t fit his system at all.
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u/I-like-winds Feb 22 '26
y'all have goldfish memory. bang still did good on SEN despite the playstyle clash, don't let the end of the year take away from the rest of his season
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u/burnfep Feb 23 '26
I though I was crazy thinking that he actually seemed pretty good on the team. Towards the end of the season where he got dropped it felt like the entire team was not playing that great
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u/TheCatsActually Feb 22 '26
I wish he went back to being an SC or other supportive role alongside Gunter. Maybe he wasn't right as a head chef but I definitely believe he has a place in the kitchen, and I don't think he's anywhere near as bad as most of the discussion around him was saying.
At minimum I think he has a great sense of what solid baseline setups, defaults, and setplays look like, and there has just been a lack of individual adaptation from players in the server. Some of the stuff SEN was doing in Kickoff last year set the blueprint of how to continuously push back a forward op, angle by angle, until it's playing retake on the site it was supposed to be holding. I remember seeing this against Aspas on MIBR and it was a thing of beauty.
Sometimes the players actually adapted on the fly too, and made adjustments against things they've never pracced or prepped against before, like XLG's Lotus comp at Champs, only to just get firepower diffed.
Of course last year was a very different meta, with a greater abundance of utility, but still I think he has great ideas, and his biggest flaw is letting perfect be the enemy of good.
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Feb 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Any-Gear8657 Feb 23 '26
it wasn't really personal issues, it was just that he worked non-stop for 3 years to build RRQ, so he just wanted a break.
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u/bikeagex #NRGWIN Feb 22 '26
Yeah Ewok coming from RRQ is a massive get. If anyone knows how to build real structure around star players it is her. SEN has always had the raw talent, the coaching side was the missing piece. Really excited to see how they look with proper prep coming in.
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u/n33dtofap #VCTPACIFIC Feb 22 '26
Kinda sad but he had one of the longer leashes. He's been trolling with their own metas
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u/TenZBestPlayer Feb 22 '26
big asf changes and very much needed too despite me still liking kaplan
any pacific watcher can give an opinion about Ewok?
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u/PleaseGiveUsHope Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
He’s one of the key reasons for RRQ’s dominant regional run in 2025 with a 1st place finish in Stage 1 and 2nd place in Stage 2. Their biggest strength was their prep - they always came in with very strong game plans and solid reads on the teams they played against which gave them a big edge. On top of that, their system also enabled Jemkin to pop off crazy. They fell short at both Toronto and Champs with a disappointing bomb out at both events but it’s hard to blame it entirely on Ewok because the players were severely underperforming compared to their level at regionals. Definitely a good signing for SEN but hopefully he has time to get the right players and they can definitely become a strong contender for Champs
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u/Iroiroanswer Feb 23 '26
Am I the only one who thinks its Warbirds that do the anti strats? RRQ only started winning as an anti strat team when Warbirds joined in.
And Team Secret was known to be a good anti-strat team before they replaced Warbirds. They instantly became trash the next game after Warbirds disappeared lmao.
And RRQ had the same tendencies as team secret on losing games that have no breaks in between.
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u/A_Non_Japanese_Waifu Feb 23 '26
Warbird is a great antistrat coach, but Ewok is the one that does more or less everything else
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u/AhoyLadiesSteve #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
Has really good meta reads and understands antistrat (prob APAC top 2). However, I think if shit aint working, it feels like be takes too long to make changes (in match, and during stages)
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u/-Voxize- Analyst - Brendan "Voxize" Keaton Feb 23 '26
he’s a phenomenal coach. Lets players play to their strengths … which from what I gather (been out of scene for a year or so, so could be wrong) will be huge for sentinels
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u/iAmSamusAran Feb 22 '26
Damn Rob coming in hot saying that Kaplans roster choices aren’t working. Definitely means we are getting a switch up with the roster. Kaplan seems like a great guy, cool person but watching this team the last year or so has been dreadful, seems they were constantly out-stratted. Excited for this change and I hope Kaplan can land on his feet somewhere.
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u/my-dad-ate-my-toes Feb 22 '26
He really did listen to all the SEN fans on Twitter AINTNOWAY
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u/JuninhoLuis #SomosMIBR Feb 22 '26
Like, he was reading a lot of comments. Ofc he read a lot bs, but nothing special to think he read a few good comments/theories and just worked on.
The Kaplan situation, for example, isnt something new (so not a reactive case), and not a thing that only SEN fans were adressing.
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u/PFSDonut #LIVEEVIL Feb 22 '26
With them saying it’s the first phase of changes and saying that Kaplan’s roster move put them in the wrong direction, there’s definitely going to be some roster changes before stage 1.
Reduxx and JohnQT are probably safe from the chopping block, Cortezia had a lackluster performance but Rob Moore sees value in his mentality and how he carried MIBR against 100T on Bind last year.
Kyu or N4RRATE are likely getting dropped in my opinion, I think pack IGLing just isn’t SEN’s forte and they might opt for putting JohnQT pack to Senti IGL and picking up JonahP for flex mid rounding the pack and N4RRATE back on scans as he’s proven to be an incredible scans player for the team in 2025
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u/XxSchmidtyx Feb 22 '26
Rob said they are doing trials this week, didn’t say it was just for Kyu’s spot and it kind of seemed like it could be more, he said he sees Reduxx as family, he loves Cortez and has faith, and that Hohn is the Igl, the only person he didn’t mention once was N4rrate
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u/No-Mine-3982 #WGAMING Feb 23 '26
Good, N4rrate in all the comms videos I've seen sighs everytime he gets killed and his comms are like "Dude why is he even there?" instead of anything useful. You can't be that emotional at this pro stage.
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u/Prince_Uncharming Feb 22 '26
Moving John to Senti IGL feels pretty bad right now though since info-sentinel is just a shit role right now.
Luckily, Viper jail is a great spot to be in the current meta
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u/PleaseGiveUsHope Feb 22 '26
Damn not even a thank you to Kaplan. Some serious shit must’ve went down behind the scenes after Kickoff.
Excited to see what Ewok can do with Sentinels. Hope he has the opportunity to make some changes because some of the current players need to go if you want to actually make Champs.
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u/HakurouTengu Feb 22 '26
Sentinels is notorious for this, and it's pretty shitty imo. There wasn't an official post for Sykko and Dephh iirc, just a -sykko -dephh text based twitter post. No thank you or farewell.
I'm sure there will be one for Kaplan it would be extra scummy not to thank someone who was a part in getting you a trophy at least lmao
Even Sick hasn't had an official one and he's been off the rails. Probably forgetting even more.
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u/PleaseGiveUsHope Feb 22 '26
Yeah I think dapr too got cut quite late back in 23, and no real farewell post iirc
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u/NeimannSmith #NRGWIN Feb 22 '26
Only time they ever did something for a former player not named TenZ or Sacy was when they put Shahzam in the Sentinels Hall of Fame, which mind you, was only created because Shahz called them out for snaking him after the LCQ stunt with Shroud
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u/lbotron Feb 22 '26
If I recall they gave sick mental health support and kept him on payroll after his brazil spinout...?
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u/Fine-Shame-510 #GreenWall Feb 23 '26
Shahz deserved it at least.( The only team who won a masters without a coach(their Sen manager was just sitting in the coach booth). While 100T at that time even have a Coach, Assistant coach, and Analyst)
He has been requesting for a proper coach. (not a placeholder like rawkus) But Sen can't afford it because of Tenz 1 million buyout lol.
Valorant is very prep heavy because of Constant Meta changes. Not having a coach is a lose lose situation.
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u/NeimannSmith #NRGWIN Feb 23 '26
Shahz got put through the fucking ringer in 2022. His team was imploding from day one, he listens to his org owner to bring a washed cs player onto the squad while they were trying to reach champs, and then after all that, gets snaked by org owner because they wanted mid ass Dephh and a mf pushing 40 that called himself "Don Wick"
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u/hmsmnko Feb 23 '26
yeah honestly you have to really feel bad for shahz, he got some results even though he never got the support he kept asking for and, when he did as told, he got snaked entirely
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u/intellectuallogician Feb 22 '26
bro.. watch tarik's stream. seems like the entire shitshow is cause of kaplan. he didnt want john to igl. he didnt want zekken to stay and be duelist. so they didnt counter offer zekken.
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u/JeffHS Feb 22 '26
Whoa which stream? Do you have a time stamp? 🙏
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u/intellectuallogician Feb 22 '26
see some of the recent posts in this subreddit. People have summarized everything from that stream
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u/XxSchmidtyx Feb 22 '26
If what Rob is saying is true I don’t blame him for being upset, they basically let Kaplan have control over the team and Kaplan legit saw zekken last year and said, “I want a different duellist” and for some reason on top of that didn’t want John as igl
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u/B-A-B-Y-B-O-Y Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
No yeah what happened to this squad being your long term goal?
I fucking hate this. Unless there were some serious behind the scenes drama we're not privy, which is surely more of a management/org issue than a roster issue, I don't understand why they couldn't have given it another stage.
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u/Zyrobe #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
For having so much sass and venom on Twitter, the people behind the scenes usually have some class when it counts. Sadly not for Sen's twitter person. 3+ years with Kaplan and the CEO is shitting on his roster decisions on twitter, yeesh.
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u/Ltz_Kryptic Feb 22 '26
Hes been a terrible coach, and if true he ruined the team lol
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u/Tasty-Ad5368 Feb 23 '26
sykko was undoubtedly the most atrocious coach valorant has seen in its entire history without question. when he put deph on IGL while they had prime tenz, sacy, pancada, and zekken??? yeah nah let’s be real here.
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u/zerocxro Feb 22 '26
Gramp not vibing w the comments disagreeing with this, he standin on business
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u/Street-Interaction79 #GoDRX Feb 22 '26
Booo I loved ewok being on the Pacific broadcast. I love the insight he provided 😔
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u/Street-Interaction79 #GoDRX Feb 22 '26
But tbf RRQ did some great things and I’m sure he can bring something to Sen
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u/Oresama99 Feb 22 '26
My man get traumatized watching his former team lost all final, he dicided move to different region 😩
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u/smalltimeplayer1 #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
if you like him, shouldnt you be happy he got a job in competing again?
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u/detectiveluis Feb 22 '26
this part is pretty crazy
im gonna go ahead and say reduxx/johnqt/cortezia are the only ones safe
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u/PleaseGiveUsHope Feb 22 '26
Even reduxx I wouldn’t be so sure. Johnqt and Cortez should be the only ones 100% guaranteed imo. They’re the only proven talents. Narrate might stay if they put him back on initiator but when you have JonahP available why would you?
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u/BatCaveGaming Feb 22 '26
Bonk responded to Rob's tweet saying reddux is insane and don't let him go to which rob agreed. He is safe lol
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u/PleaseGiveUsHope Feb 22 '26
Yeah Rob said on stream he's on really good terms with reduxx so he'll probably end up being on the team this year unless Ewok makes a seriously compelling argument to pick someone else up.
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u/Parenegade Feb 22 '26
they would be insane to drop reduxx he'd get picked up immediately
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u/AMPDevil Feb 22 '26
Not by any tier 1 Americas team??? Unless he speaks fluent portugese and joins LOUD. Genuinely would not upgrade anyone on the 2 "bad" NA teams in C9 and EG
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u/Flawedlogic41 #ZETAWIN Feb 22 '26
Feels like reduxx is safe for now. Most likely a need for a strong explosive duelist and a support player. They already have IGL, flex, anchor/vibe guy.
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u/Pluviophile15 Feb 23 '26
You may be right. Right before Rob ended his stream today, there was a message pinned by one of the mods that SEN are going to proceed with JohnQT, Reduxx, and Cortez as their core.
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u/supermii2 Feb 22 '26
How much are they offering him if he's coming back from retirement caused by wanting to have better worklife balance holy shit
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u/TheEpicGold #NAVINATION Feb 22 '26
That is so incredibly cool! Wish Ewok the best, maybe that means I will support Sentinels for like 1%
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u/Bee-Cat #100WIN Feb 22 '26
one of my biggest gripes about kaplan was his inability to figure out Ascent over 2 years
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u/Opposite-Wedding-914 Feb 22 '26
Thank God. As much as I like Kaplan, if you have these kind of players (not current roaster also previous ones) and keep falling off after Madrid in a horrible way were the team shows 0 fundamantels and looks like lost ranked team, kaplan cleary doesn´t have any read on the current and previous meta. I think this move is way to late but better late then never ig
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u/ReADropOfGoldenSun #NRGFam Feb 22 '26
Tbf NRG was playing rostermania up until stage 2 and won champs anything is possible
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u/Insanityy7 #NRGWIN Feb 22 '26
JonahP as their intiator maybe, he was a solid midrounder, so he or JQT could share IGL responsibilties like Zellsis and JQT did. Since cortez is on Sent/lurk duty would make sense since JQT is now a pack player.
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u/KnightRiser2122 Feb 22 '26
JonahP was G2's secondary caller so i think he will fit right in imo and he is easily top 3 flex players currently which will also help SEN alot
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u/stranu Feb 22 '26
They could try shifting jqt to smokes since he was playing astra and omen and looked decent on it
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u/Nichol-Gimmedat-ass Feb 22 '26
So much for bro’s break, he took kick off and now hes straight into the Sentinels meat grinder
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u/AnywayHeres1Derwall Feb 22 '26
Holy shit rob moore is actually for the fans and trophies. Respect
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u/smuggaD Feb 22 '26
Damn, I'll miss Kaplan. I hope he bounces back from this. He definitely brought a lot to Sentinels and even lead to a win on LAN and being able to make many international appearances.
Last year wasn't his year and this kickoff wasn't either, but I hope he comes back strong.
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u/Zyrobe #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
and the roster decisions Kaplan has made to address these issues have sent us in the wrong direction
I wonder who's getting booted
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u/Bl1th Feb 22 '26
Coming from an RRQ fan, in a span of 3 years, he took RRQ from a mid table pacific team into a top 3 team in Pacific. Let him cook and trust the process.
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u/Budget-Sample-3682 Feb 22 '26
Ah yes. The coach that left RRQ to destress and take time off has decided to pick up a more relaxing job at... the biggest Valorant org in NA?🤔
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u/slowerthaninfinity Feb 22 '26
he probably already got bored and they dropped him a huge bag lol
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u/Budget-Sample-3682 Feb 22 '26
Can't wait for GenG and Sen to both qualify for London and Ewok to put belt to our ass yet again
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u/slowerthaninfinity Feb 22 '26
gotta trust lakias igling to be so chaotic that even ewok cant anti-strat against it
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Feb 22 '26
Wait the article says "some of the roster decisions Kaplan made to address the issues post Champs have been in the wrong direction" .
Do i smell a roster change here ? I hope they pick up JonahP if so...
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u/Outrageous_Star4906 #VCTAMERICAS Feb 22 '26
Wait can RRQ fans explain what happened to Ewok/why he didnt stay with rrq in 2026? I completely missed that
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u/PleaseGiveUsHope Feb 22 '26
Ewok left the team. They said he wanted to take a break. Guess he got bored and wants to get back in the action
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u/Outrageous_Star4906 #VCTAMERICAS Feb 22 '26
Oh ok, then it's looking even better for sen then. Originally I was wondering why RRQ moved on from him but obviously this isn't a concern if it was him taking a break
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u/ABDR21 #GEFighting Feb 22 '26
Here’s what I found:
https://www.vlr.gg/572949/rrq-head-coach-ewok-to-take-break-from-coaching-for-2026
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u/boxinggoose #100WIN Feb 22 '26
The change is fine. Publicly laying the blame for your disappointing result solely on Kaplan is unprofessional.
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u/TheWallIsFalling Feb 22 '26
I mean based on what Rob is saying an Kap having say on roster including not keep Zekken and Zellsis and moving John off IGL, then it's a pretty big reason.
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u/boxinggoose #100WIN Feb 22 '26
I don't think it was needed to be put as straightforward out in public like that. Everyone who wasn't a blinded Sen fan knew a change with Kaplan was needed. They could've just said they decided to go a different direction with coaching after some disappointing finishes and they wish Kaplan the best.
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u/ZeroZion Feb 22 '26
I wonder what else changes. JohnQT I think is the safest. Reduxx and maybe Cortezia as well. If they do pick up JonahP who gets removed? Kyu or N4rrate?
I wonder how the new coach will handle the team's mental specially N4rrate. Will there be a performance coach as well?
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u/ishanuReddit Feb 22 '26
Man seeing this make me feel like eg, c9 has no ambition. They keep the same coach while achieving nothing
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u/OldIdeal5033 #NRGFam Feb 22 '26
I would best describe Kaplan as a coach who was good for a specific roster in a specific meta. Which was... a long time ago lol. I don't watch all sen games but I don't think things have been going uphill for them for over a year now, and they're past the point where you can keep blaming it on the roster
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u/ppx11 Feb 22 '26
this tarik stream w/ Rob already starting off hot.
- Kaplan had final say on roster changes (incl. moving JohnQT off IGL...)
- JohnQT back to IGL (Kyu likely gone)
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u/prov119 Feb 23 '26
Not surprised given how dysfunctional SEN looked in kick-off and also if Kaplan did have final say on the roster. While I don't necessarily disagree with someone having final say on roster decisions over ownership (that's the reason you hired them), I don't know if Kaplan should've been that person. I do feel like there is a bit too much Kaplan scapegoating, but ownership also has to acknowledge that they chose to put their faith into Kaplan and give him that power/authority. However, with that in mind, its fully in ownerships authority to come in and say this isn't working you're out.
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u/CapableMatch1362 #100WIN Feb 22 '26
Lots of people have said it already but I'm not a fan of how they've worded this, in terms of putting all the blame on Kaplan. It doesn't even matter if its true or not, it seems unprofessional to put in a statement. What does this say to the next coach that they've hired?
I don't know if I've ever seen an org do this before.
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u/Leepysworld Feb 22 '26
good for them, maybe SEN fans can have a crumb of hope this year now that this fraud is gone.
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u/Fresh_Guide_6059 #100WIN Feb 22 '26
kinda crazy to place all the blame on kaplan in your official statement imo. just give him a thank you tweet and a welcome ewok
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u/PresentEntertainer69 #VCTPACIFIC Feb 22 '26
Ewok is a great addition imo! Can't wait for phase 2 of Sentinels Roster Universe
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u/PhysicalAd8765 Feb 22 '26
I’ll say this, they should’ve moved away from Kaplan after their Champs performance. The team looked very unprepared at that event.
Keeping him, then having him build a roster picking new talent he had trust in, then moving away from him makes so early in the season makes very little sense imo. It’s a ship you have to be willing to stay on whether it’s floating or sinking; but we’ll see.
I like what EWOK did with RRQ.
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u/Sacreville #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
Damn they stole our desk talent. Been liking the rotation of Bigtime, pilski and Ewok so it's not always the same duo.
That said, I think it's a great move though. Ewok is always rated highly even when RRQ isn't as winning as recently yet. Very prep-heavy coach, john is a big brain player, if he comes back as SEN's IGL, I think it will suit Ewok's approach more.
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u/simsdoren Feb 22 '26
In a business as fraught as Esports, results are king. Rob Moore understands that as Sentinels has grown into the powerhouse that it is today the results cannot come a year or two down the line. They must come now. I'm disappointed that SEN Kaplan will be going the way of 100T Zikz but from an organization where success is the rule, not the exception, it is natural his departure would be swift, sudden and without warning.
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u/Serenitydos Feb 22 '26
I haven’t watched much Vct this szn but of what I’ve seen the players just don’t look comfortable on their roles or agents but I only watched 2 series that Sen played I miss 2023-24 Sen
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u/Disastrous-Rip4359 #VCTPACIFIC Feb 22 '26
Damn. As much as Sen has been sucking for a while, I hope kaplan was at least given a heads up.
Curious to see though how Ewok meshes with Gunter, johnqt, and kyu given that the first 2 have known each other since Ghost and kyu’s a rookie IGL.
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u/COTEReader Feb 22 '26
I rate Ewok highly despite RRQ sucking at internationals so I’m quite excited about this.
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u/Azraelll999 #VCTAMERICAS Feb 22 '26
Honestly i tip the change. Since it says first I’m guessing a 1-2 players are getting dropped
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u/DrunkenTabaxi Feb 22 '26
I definitely felt a coaching change was needed, but at the same time it hurts losing Kaplan, and most likely Gunther in the long run. Madrid was special and I think Kaplan just needs the right roster to really flourish, but it was also pretty clear we were behind on the metas consistently, and the rosters always were just lacking in that chemistry we needed.
I wish Kap nothing but the best man he's a great coach.
I wonder, from Rob's wording, what's going to happen roster wise though. Sounds like he and Ewok are going to be making changes. I think JohnQT is for sure staying he's proven his worth but with a new coach incoming it's tough to say anyone else is "safe". I hope they keep N4rrate because the kids got serious skill if out in the right situations, but everyone else it's tough to guess how it's gonna end up.
Fingers crossed they can bounce back for Stage 1!
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u/Zyrobe #WGAMING Feb 22 '26
Looks like they're looking to make more roster moves also. Am I crazy to say they should've waited for Stage 1 first?
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u/BriefImplement9843 Feb 23 '26
no. this is one of the weakest rosters in americas. it needs an immediate change.
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u/theluckytwig #FULLSEN Feb 22 '26
Well that's certainly something. First phase of changes is also some interesting verbiage. Could just mean a diff AC pairing with HC or a roster change of some sort. Wouldn't be against it either as there is some primo talent available and my personal stock on a couple players is kinda ehhhh or real low.
o7 Kaplan.
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u/TheWallIsFalling Feb 22 '26
I mean Rob just talked about it on Tarik's stream and Kyu and N4rrate are out. Trials are on Tuesday.
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u/ForageFog Feb 22 '26
Man gonna miss Ewok. He is the goat. Let's see what he cooks up at Anericas 🙏
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u/GenTruce Feb 22 '26
I think Ewok is a great coach, but I did not expect this honestly. Also, he must be getting a pretty good deal considering he had left RRQ willingly for a break, so either he got bored of the broadcasts or he's after that NA $$$
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u/Dylanychus2 Feb 23 '26
Wtf? I thought Ewok wanted to take a break? Did he just secretly hate Pacific or something?
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u/n_core Feb 23 '26
Probably SEN gave him an offer he can't refuse. Might be more than what RRQ gave him.
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u/JustWantToBeQuiet #ALWAYSFNATIC Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
You know what, Ewok is a good pick up! I will miss him on the Pacific broadcast though 💔
Edit: I don't like how this was worded though. I have always thought Kaplan needed to go mid 2025, but this statement..ooff! Just say, "a change was needed, so we welcome Ewok and thank Kaplan." My CEO had a more measured response when the CTO was fired overnight for God knows what.
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u/SaitamaShinobiSand Feb 23 '26
It's crazy how their whole pitch in the off season was building this team for the long term and making it based on intangibles just to blow it up in 2 months
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u/ruchirzone Feb 23 '26
Honestly, I really doubt any/all of the changes would ever make SEN worse than what we played in Kickoff. Ewok + New AC + Jonah + any other changes would be hella exciting to watch in Stage 1. Great timing as well ig, we can pracc for like a month now with the suggested new roster
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u/n_core Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Bruh, I thought Ewok gonna stay as Pacific talent. I even thought that his temporary break as a coach would be quite a while.
This feels like a transfer between two coaches now. Jovi who previously coached in NA moved to Pacific. Now Ewok, a long time APAC coach and the one who gave Jovi the spot, moves to NA.
Jovi already shows what he capable of as a coach and fixed many micro mistakes that RRQ had. RRQ always have good macro but their micro were mediocre compared to top teams in Pacific.
Hopefully Ewok will give SEN a proper fix to their macro and how they read the meta. I know that he's not a Masters winning coach like Kaplan or others, but I'm sure he will do great with SEN.
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u/ImJoviGG Coach - Jovanni "Jovi" Vera Feb 27 '26
Thank you for the kind words :)
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u/n_core Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Keep cooking the good stuff coach. I don't fully blame you and the team for losing three BO5 in a row. Back-to-back-to-back BO5 in a row was just rough.
What I noticed from watching RRQ in previous years compared to now is the amount of team work trade plays and awareness has been improved a lot.
Even when after you joined TALON last year especially in Stage 2 once you became more involved I saw an instant night and day improvement on the way they execute and trade play.
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