Sentinels are “grinding” for LCQ despite their reputation, Valorant coach says

❘ Updated: 2023-06-29T21:13:43

Robert Paul/Riot Games

Sentinels huddled on the VCT Americas stage with their newest lineup.

Sentinels’ Valorant head coach Adam ‘kaplan’ Kaplan has said that his team has been working hard for the upcoming VCT Americas LCQ tournament.

Sentinels have one more chance to salvage this season as they will be taking part in the Americas’ last-chance qualifier for Valorant Champions.

The tournament will feature the teams ranked fourth through tenth in the Americas League, with the winner earning a spot at the international event, which will take place in Los Angeles.

In Sentinels’ latest YouTube video, kaplan and three of the team’s players discuss VCT Masters Tokyo’s results and what to expect from LCQ. The coach said that, after a five-day break following the end of VCT Americas’ regular season, it has been nothing but grind for his team.

“We have been pretty much been scrimming since,” he said. “We have been grinding, despite the Sentinels tradition of not grinding.”

kaplan went on to reveal that not every team has taken the same approach to preparing for the tournament.

“A lot of teams have not been grinding as long as us,” he said.

Gustavo ‘Sacy’ Rossi added: “Some teams are starting now, right? Well, not our problem.”

Sentinels’ thoughts on LCQ match

kaplan said he’s “very confident” about LCQ, where Sentinels face a do-or-die clash with 100 Thieves in the second Play-In round. The loser gets eliminated, while the winner enters a double-elimination bracket, with Cloud9 as the first opponent.

For Jimmy ‘Marved’ Nguyen, this is a heavily hyped match. “Probably more viewers than the Japan finals,” he said, laughing.

Sacy noted that he is trying not to let the tournament’s format get to his head.

“I don’t even like to think about it, I just accept it,” he said. “It’s better. If you think about, it’s weird, but f**k it. We don’t care. We just need to win.”

Sentinels will go up against 100 Thieves on July 16. The last match between the two teams, during Week 1 of VCT Americas, ended with a close 2-1 victory for Sentinels.