Zombsnation: Sentinels Zombs announces retirement from professional Valorant, hints at other ventures

Former active Sentinels player, Jared “zombs” Gitlin has announced his retirement from competitive Valorant. “zombs” has been riding the bench since April of 2022, when Sentinels decided to change their roster, replacing him with Erik “Kanpeki” Xu. His change marked the end of an era in North America, for the Sentinels’ roster’s domination.

The core four, Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan, Michael “dapr” Gulino, Hunter “SicK” Mims, and “zombs” had been together on Sentinels since the beginning. The departure of Jay “sinatraa” Won in exchange for “TenZ” had only seen their popularity and reign rise. As 2021 went on, Sentinels slowly dropped off, from the heights of North America’s darlings to the faces of mockery.

No coming back

With the rise of VCT partnership for 2023, most NA partnered teams had rosters locked in. “zombs” was not among the short list of names, and many assumed with rumors, that he would be looking to return in the VCT Challengers League, potentially with former teammate “ShahZaM”. Both outcasts from the upper echelons of competition now, it made sense they sought solace in one another. Moreover, there were confirmed sightings that “zombs” had been scrimming.

In his stream on 24th Nov, he confirms as much, however, decided to stop playing competitively as he ‘doesn’t see himself leaving Sentinels.’ ‘I was scrimming for like a week,’ he said. ‘The team I was making had some potential and we had some potential organizations interested. But then I went to Los Angeles, I talked to the SEN owner, and now I never want to leave SEN. I am staying on SEN forever.

[youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Xw2Wu6-gE"]

Realisation and loyalty

He also mentioned, ‘I have been on SEN since the beginning since they had like zero followers. I am not going to compete again. It’s not worth it for me anymore. I have opportunities that are better for the future.’ The opportunities he hints at could be content creation and streaming. A large portion of aging esports professionals look towards streaming as the logical step of transition. Moreover, streaming generated more consistent income and sponsorships than professional contracts, allowing one to earn more.

“zombs” has been a part of the Sentinels organization since 2019, joining first their Apex Legends roster, before transitioning in 2020 to Valorant. He was part of their inaugural first roster and was a part of all their success, including the perfect run at Masters Reykjavik in 2021.

While his departure from the professional scene does sting, he offers some insights as well into the life of esports athletes: ‘Playing video games isn’t what everyone thinks it is,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to realize how impossible it is to have a full team of five people who are on the same page together. It’s like one-in-a-million. Every team has too many problems all the time. Most of the time, you don’t even get paid to the point where it’s worth spending years of your life grinding.’

Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games