This information is huge for Valiant. From the rumor mill, it seems that 100 Thieves might be poaching Kess from QoR to take over for Boostio just before VCT Americas S2. Until now, the lineup rumored included Zander, Asuna, eeiu, and Cryo; and now Kess. The news popped out from one rather interesting insider named @purest; the Valorant community in uproar is now divided between hype, some confusion, and a heck of a lot of questioning about how that roster even comes together.
So, first off: who even is Kess? If you aren’t really following Tier 2 Valorant, this name probably has you scratching your head. According to those who have played against him, he is a decent initiator player—and those make it all the more interesting. An immediate reaction from the likes of Hanami and Rvn was: If Kess is indeed the initiator on the team, would eeiu then have to switch roles? Or maybe Asuna now becomes the Sentinel? All of a sudden, this team comp looks a little off, and the community is already splitting into camps debating if this is really a genius play or a desperate scramble.
Then there’s the Boostio of it all. The original tweet did not give any insight on the “whys” of replacement, but that just heightened the speculation. Some, like vyrixo, really wondered whether Boostio is getting benched for his silly “bad takes” (whatever those were). Others like L1 seem more just bummed to see him go, proceeding to drop a series of pig emojis whose meaning, frankly, nobody knows. But hey, dramas in esports mean a lot to people.
Kess’s supporter base, well, according to Bobbert’s dramatic copypasta, stands at five, and they are pretty hyped. The guy has these few mosquitos with him willing to back that guy literally, while half of the replies are just people wondering “who?” or cracking jokes about the name (Massive shoutout to Jaskirat for that kess=mess analysis). Then you have ExistentialVP with the black card theory: “Is kess code for demon1?” Uh… probably not, but who knows in the middle of roster madness?
The real question is: Will it pay off? 100 Thieves have been rocking the Valorant scene since time immemorial, but roster switches always come with risk. Kess is probably not a household name for now, but neither was Cryo when he suddenly rose to fame. So, if Kess fits well with the team, this may be a killer pick. If not… well, expect those “kess=less” jokes to return in full force.
At the very least, VCT Americas St. 2 just got far more intere…resting. Indeed worth watching, if for no other reason but the whole 100T fan and the drama-welcoming populations. The next part is actually waiting for the rumor to be confirmed and… even more importantly… Kess turning around and crushing the haters.
And hey… if all else fails, from Nahsie’s wise perspective… just clone him. Problem solved.
