TenZ officially joins Sentinels, 7 figure payday for Cloud9

Tyson “TenZ” Ngo has officially transferred teams from Cloud9 to Sentinels through a minimum seven-figure buyout, according to The Esports Observer’s Kevin Hitt.  With this move, TenZ joins the list of privileged few esports athletes that make over a million dollars a year, a list that includes names such as Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen. 

Sentinels was quick to Tweet about the trade:

Is TenZ worth it?

Fans have been clamoring for Cloud9 to release the Valorant superstar to Sentinels for months, with TenZ himself voicing his preference to join the new team.  TenZ’s temporary agency with Sentinels was originally seen as a complete upgrade for the team as the young Canadian was a bona fide prodigy in Valorant.  This notion was cemented with Sentinel’s victory in the Valorant Champions Tour Masters 1 tournament after Sentinels had to defeat powerful teams such as 100 Thieves and FaZe Clan.

Since the Valorant Champions Tour Masters 1 where Sentinels finished in first place, TenZ has played with the current iteration of the Sentinels roster.  He has participated in the VCT Stage 2 Challengers 2 as well as VCT Masters 2 Reykjavik, which Sentinels also won in dominating fashion.  After TenZ’s arrival, Sentinels have won both Valorant Masters tournaments they participated in and are domestically and internationally recognized as the best team in the world.  So the question is not IF TenZ is worth the money but rather how much, and that was answered with a whopping seven-digit payout.  

The fate of Sinatraa

The entire reason that TenZ was even considered as a Sentinel staple is because of ex Overwatch player Sinatraa stepping down due to allegations of sexual misconduct.  With this news of TenZ’s buyout, Sinatraa is now faced with a worst-case scenario.

The Overwatch prodigy could stick with Sentinels and compete for a position on the team alongside everybody else.  Will he be able to take his spot back from TenZ?  Probably not, but that does not mean that Sinatraa cannot pick up another agent or playstyle, perhaps adding a Viper player or a Sage support.  Of course, this option comes with its caveats – questionable team synergy, possible overshadowing by TenZ, and this all hinges on the investigation finding Sinatraa innocent.