NRG Boost: Former XSET and T1 player thwifo to join stacked NRG roster as sixth man

3 Nov

Foo Zen-Wen

Completing the Call

Zander “thwifo” Kim has been officially announced by North American organization, NRG, as their sixth man. This officially completes the NRG roster for the 2023 VCT season. Competing within the Americas circuit, NRG is one of the 10 partnered teams announced to compete within the partners International League.

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Upon announcement of their new partner status, NRG underwent a reformation of their entire Valorant roster. Retaining only Sam “s0m” Oh from its 2022 roster iteration, the team was rebuilt around the former Optic Gaming core.

Valorant Champions finalist Pujan “FNS” Mehta, Austin “crashies” Roberts, and Victor “Victor” Wong form the core of the new NRG roster. Newcomer addition of Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks joins them as well from across the ocean. Formerly of FunPlus Phoenix, the Latvian/British player replaces long-standing star Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker in this new iteration of the Optic lineup.

Unrealised potential?

Despite never earning the chance to compete at the highest levels in Valorant, “thwifo” has continuously shown promise as one of the brighter spots on whichever roster he joins. On T1, he was one of the most stable elements of that volatile roster that included other notable individuals such as Johann “seven” Hernandez, Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham, Rahul “curry” Nemani, and Joshua “steel” Nissan. His stint with T1 lasted from late 2021 till 2022 when T1 departed from North America. He and “steel” were the final remainders of the NA T1 iteration.

“thwifo’s” joining of the NRG squad opens up further possibilities for the squad. Specialising in the sentinel and flex role, especially Skye, Killjoy, Chamber, “thwifo” boasts an average K:D of 1.71 and ACS of 315 on Killjoy, one of his most played agents, according to vlr.gg.

Current speculations on the NRG roster include “crashies” on recon initiator, “s0m” on primary controllers, “ardiis” filling the star role similar to “yay”. “Victor” and “FNS” fulfil a dual flex role at the moment, and it appears they have now acquired a sentinel specialist/third flex.

Excitement is generally high from fans to see “thwifo’s” return to tier 1 Valorant since his XSET days. One of the most proven quantities in the NA Valorant scene not already attached to top team until now, it appears expectations are high that he will not disappoint.

What does it mean to be a sixth man?

The addition of sixth men is a relatively new one introduced within the Valorant space. Typically, a sixth man will remain on the sidelines of the main roster until called upon. They perform the role of ‘sub,’ serving as either a bolster to the main force or replacing element should one of the main players not be available to play.

Thoughts are currently conflicted on what it means for the select few sixth men players such as Hunter “SicK” Mims on Sentinels. The main hesitance to embrace the idea comes with the notion that the sixth player will not be as committed as the other five due to their limited contributions.

On the one hand, a sixth man, such as in the case of NRG, allows for greater compositional flexibility. That said, it also limits the players’ exposures to the competition, reducing their overall playtime and synergy building period. Moreover, agent masteries and different playstyles offers curveballs to opponents.

The NRG roster as it stands: