After missing out on a spot for VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Champions 2021, G2 Esports are bringing in fresh faces for their 2022 roster. In a Twitter announcement on Thursday, the EMEA side confirmed the five players who would be raising the G2 banner for the second iteration of VCT next season. The two new additions to the team hail from Giants Gaming, plus they are also coming with their coach Daniil “pipsoN” Meshcheryakov.
G2 adds Giants pros to 2022 roster
G2 have bolstered their squad with former Giants players Aaro “hoody” Peltokangas and Johan “Meddo” Renbjörk Lundborg. Not only do they both have professional experience in the budding VALORANT scene, but they also hail from extensive Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) backgrounds, making them as good as veterans for the competitive FPS.
Back on Giants, hoody and Meddo had witnessed many roster changes as the team looked to find a stable and consistent lineup. They were the only two players to have stayed with Giants from the beginning to the end of the 2021 VCT season, but now have moved on and seek to perform even better for G2 next year.
Alongside hoody and Meddo, G2 is keeping three of its key players from the 2021 roster. Óscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho, Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas, and Auni “AvovA” Chahade will continue to brandish the G2 banner for 2022 VCT. Meanwhile, Wassim “keloqz” Cista has moved to the bench and will have the freedom to explore other options.
G2's up-and-down 2021 VCT campaign
Earlier this month, G2 and Jose Luis “koldamenta” Aranguren Herrero had also parted ways. Koldamenta played for G2 during the latter part of the 2021 VCT, after transferring from Acend in July. Meanwhile, Acend had brought onboard Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt from G2. zeek and team went on to put together a historical run through VCT Champions Berlin, winning the inaugural tournament in striking fashion—beating out fan favorites Gambit Esports, 3-2 and becoming the first ever VALORANT World Champions.
In contrast, G2 had just missed out on a VCT Champions berth, losing to Team Liquid and Guild in the Last Chance Qualifiers for the EMEA region. The team had performed much better at the start of VCT 2021 than the latter half. They had even beaten Sentinels at Masters Berlin, landing in the top four for that competition.
With pipsoN's arrival, this also means the departure of Neil “neilzinho” Finlay from G2's coaching position. The new roster will showcase what they can do when VCT 2022 kicks off with the EMEA Challengers Qualifiers, set to begin in late January or early February.
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