Ahead of the Last Chance Qualifiers for VCT Champions – the pinnacle event of the Valorant esports season – reigning world champion Acend has added former Team Liquid ace Travis ‘L1NK’ Mendoza to its roster.
In late June, Acend opted to bench one of the members of its 2021 VCT Champions-winning roster, Aleksander ‘zeek’ Zygmunt, and has been looking for a replacement since. Last month, L1NK was dropped by Team Liquid after almost two years of service with the org, and Acend has now picked him up at the last moment before rosters are locked in place for the LCQs next week.
Speaking in an announcement video, L1NK says he’s “super excited and super pumped” to be joining the roster of the reigning world champions. The British player also says that “anyone who thinks they stand a chance [against Acend] in the next qualifier, I think you’ve got something coming.”
Acend is one of eight teams in the LCQ for the EMEA region, and only one of those teams will earn a spot at VCT Champions in Istanbul next month. If it wants to defend its title, it’ll have to fend off stiff competition, starting with the team it played in that Champions final last year, M3 (previously known as Gambit Esports).
Also in the LCQ is L1NK’s old side Team Liquid, which has also been on the hunt for a fifth and final player before the tournament after L1NK’s initial replacement, Aurimas ‘Dreamas’ Zablockis, was only brought in on a temporary basis. With rosters being locked in today, expect an announcement from Liquid soon about who it is picking up.
The EMEA Last Chance Qualifier kicks off on August 7.
