So less than 48 hours until the Sentinels enter Paris, surely for some really big Valorant action, and the populace there is, well, feeling all kinds of feelings about it. The org excitedly tweeted with a beautiful graphic and the french tricolor, counting down the hours to the event. However, the replies carried a whole mixed bag of excitement, frivolous banter, and outright disbelief. It’s wild.

Aayush Kumar Singh and the likes start with, “Sentinels please do not lose! ‘Please do not disappoint’ – surely there is some pressure weighing on the team.” On a comical note, Gankster says something meme-worthy: “Kaplan should speak French during the whole thing.” Oui oui baguette; the thought itself is hysterical.

Here come the haters though: Amvy says, “to lose u mean,” which is… blunt. And Yumi says, “48 hours until Sen go 0-1 in groups,” together with the crying emoji. Ouch. Not everyone is convinced, I guess. But then DreamZbtw says, “damnn gonna be wild,” so I think some of them are really excited.

What a roller coaster! The community is basically in every shade of emotion on display. Dmanrocks is sad, though, because it means 48 hours they cannot watch it live. That’s a bummer; time zones for esports are sometimes brutal for the fans. Then SEN Browz requests the clean version of the graphic with no text so he can use that as a wallpaper – dedication to the highest degree.

Now, the whole thing going between Aquatic and Rob Moore from the esports side is something I love. Aquatic tells Rob: “Give the team your best motivational speech,” to which Rob responded, “Let’s do this.” Short and sweet, but you know he’s probably hyping them up behind-the-scenes. Then Aquatic says, “if you guys win champs I will be getting a sen tattoo.” That’s commitment! The team better see this and feel some pressure, but in a good way.

That’s just how divided it is (shows mixed opinions). Some are going all in: Cokebwoy, for instance, is here for Sentinel!!! with a trophy emoji and all. Others think they’ll be gone in a couple of days, though. That’s esports for you: Everybody has an opinion, and they’re not shy about sharing it.

The Sentinels sort of went roller coaster for a little. They had their highs and lows, and it seems that one big opportunity for them is this tournament. On the international stage in Paris with everyone watching them… that in itself is a feat. The community has been watching closely, and these reactions prove that indeed people care about how this goes.

What is great, even with the doubts, is the sense of community prevailing among the replies. People are interacting with one another to keep themselves entertained with jokes or even promising things; it is far from toxicity. In other words, we do engage with the team, albeit sometimes critically. That little bit is what separates gaming communities: they care, often too much, but that kind of passion comes out of caring.

In 48 hours, we’ll find out. Will the Sentinels make the doubters eat their words by going really deep? Or will the early-escape predictions come true? Either way, it will be an event, and every single spectator will be present to witness and comment on it, before continuing to argue about it on Twitter. Thus, Paris is going to be so valued for this interesting Valorant stuff. I mean, who knows, maybe even Kaplan will give French a whirl for a laugh!