Sentinels Zellsis voices frustrations over tech issues in opening game of VCT Americas

Sentinels' vibe merchant Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro has opened up about his frustrations in their opening match of the VCT Americas Split 1.

According to Zellsis, prior to their opening match against 100 Thieves, during the initial tests on stage, the Sentinels players had reported multiple issues with the audio in-game as well as with the communication system. However, when this concern was brought up with the on-site staff, the issue was ultimately left unresolved until mid-match.

When the concerns were initially brought up, Zellsis confirmed that they were instead directed towards the walkout area, in preparation for the start of the match, with assurances that the issues would be resolved when the players returned to the desks.

Instead, the match was immediately started following the players’ walkouts, leading to Sentinels’ mounting frustrations at the lack of resolution offered by the on-site staff. Requests to take a technical timeout were also reportedly threatened with a tactical timeout removal penalty as well, leading to Sentinels having few options to deal with the ongoing audio issues.

However, Sentinels players managed to finally resolve their issues during the first map against 100 Thieves. Reportedly, Zellsis stated that the first few rounds had players consistently requesting for audio adjustments as the game was on-going.

A Turbulent Start

Sentinels was already in the midst of heavy adjustments due to visa delays for Moroccan In-Game Leader Mohamed “johnqt” Amine Ouarid. The player was reportedly stuck in limbo for a number of days following the conclusion of VCT Masters Madrid.

As Sentinels had participated in the Grand Finals, their run at the event concluded on the 24th of March, leaving just 2 weeks for johnqt to return home, and reapply for a new visa back to LA in order to compete for the start of VCT Americas Split 1, which began on the 6th of April. Sentinel’s match, which took place last night, was slated for the 7th.

Reportedly, johnqt received his visa at the eleventh hour, leading him to only arrive in LA on the 6th. Moreover, this left Sentinels with little to no preparation time, as they had been on break and separated right after the Masters event. Sentinels sixth man Rahul “curry” Nemani was even brought in with expectations that he would most likely have to play should the Sentinels In-Game Leader fail to procure a visa in time.

No reports have emerged at this time regarding if 100 Thieves’ players had suffered similar issues with audio. Despite all the setbacks, Sentinels managed to rally back on Icebox, and then a swift victory on Split, closing out against 100 Thieves 2-0.

Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

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