El Diablo Returns to Pro VALORANT with s0m-FNS VCT 2027 Stream Team

The King of Hell returns. Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker has been announced as the new fifth for one of the anticipated stream teams of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2027 Americas Kickoff Open Qualifiers.

Yay will replace Ryan "Shanks" Ngo, and his addition reunites 3/5 of the original OpTic Gaming lineup from 2022. 

A Stacked Lineup For Open Qualifiers

Even before the addition of yay, the currently unnamed stream team was already headlined by some of VALORANT's biggest content creator names, including Pujan "FNS" Mehta, Sam "s0m" Oh, Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen, Yassine "Subroza" Taoufik, Ava "florescent" Eugene and Shanks. 

Yay, meanwhile, returns to the competitive scene after a year-long absence. His last stint was with Evil Geniuses, finishing out their run in 7th-8th place at Stage 2 of VCT Americas. 

Putting performance expectations aside, the lineup is likely to be one of the biggest viewership draws of the Open Qualifiers globally.

Added to the fact that FNS has confirmed all their Open Qualifier games and scrims will be streamed from all player's POV, and that's a recipe for massive fan approval. 

Can This Lineup Make it All the Way to Kickoffs?

The debut of VCT 2027 begins with Open Qualifiers around the globe for Kickoffs. With two rounds of Open Qualifiers and over 60 teams already signed up for just the North American OQ, it's a daunting gauntlet to battle into Kickoffs. 

Just 8 teams total will advance from these 2 Open Qualifiers to join another 8 invited teams for a three-day Swiss Stage followed by a final 8-team Playoffs Bracket.

The champion advances to Kickoff, while the 2nd seed gets one more chance to claim the final slot in the Last Chance Qualifier. 

Timeline:

• Open Qualifier #1: November 5-8
• Open Qualifier #2: November 12-15
• Swiss Stage: November 20-22
• Playoffs: December 1-6
• LCQ: December 17-18
• Americas Kickoff 2027: Jan 14 - Feb 7

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Featured Image Credit: Tina Jo/Riot Games

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