By: Kaiden Ulmer ’28
Sentinels (SEN) is a professional Valorant team that has made a big impact in esports. Originally, they were called “Phoenix1” and were created in May 2016 as a League of Legends team. They played in the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS). However, after the NA LCS switched to a franchise system, Phoenix1 sold their spot. They later partnered with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) to create the LA Gladiators, an Overwatch team. In 2018, Phoenix1 officially rebranded as Sentinels, or “SEN City.”
In 2020, Sentinels joined the Valorant scene shortly after the game launched. Their first roster included Shahzeeb “ShahZaM” Khan, Hunter “SicK” Mims, Jared “zombs” Gitlin, Michael “dapr” Gulino, and Jaden “subroza” Perry. They officially formed their Valorant division in April 2020 by signing Jay “sinatraa” Won, a former Overwatch pro, along with ex-CS:GO players ShahZaM and SicK. Zombs came from their Apex Legends roster, and dapr joined in June.
After sinatraa was suspended in 2021, Sentinels brought in Tyson “TenZ” Ngo on loan from Cloud9. With TenZ, the team made history by winning the VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters in Reykjavík without losing a single map. TenZ officially joined Sentinels in June 2021. Later that year, they placed 5th-8th at the VCT Stage 3: Masters Berlin after losing to Team Envy. 
In September 2022, Sentinels became a Riot Games partner for the 2023 VCT Americas League. They made big roster changes, releasing ShahZaM, Zellsis, shroud, and Kanpeki. They signed XSET players Zachary “zekken” Patrone and Rory “dephh” Jackson, along with Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi and Bryan “pANcada” Luna from the 2022 Valorant Champions-winning team. They also brought in new coaches Don “SyykoNT” Muir and Adam “kaplan” Kaplan.
In 2023, former OpTic Gaming player Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen joined as a sub and later became the in-game leader after dephh left. Despite these changes, Sentinels failed to qualify for the Americas League playoffs and were eliminated in the Last Chance Qualifier by Leviatán.
In September 2023, Sentinels signed Mohamed “johnqt” Ouarid as their new IGL and re-signed Zellsis as a sub. They started the 2024 season strong, winning the AfreecaTV Valorant League in South Korea and beating LOUD in the Americas Kickoff grand final to qualify for Masters Madrid. In Madrid, they performed well but lost to Gen.G in the upper finals. After defeating Paper Rex, they faced Gen.G again in the grand finals and won 3-2, claiming their second Masters trophy. TenZ became the second player ever to win two Masters titles, and Sacy became the first to win both a Champions and a Masters title.
Despite their success, the rest of the 2024 season was inconsistent. Sentinels struggled in Americas Stage 1 but improved in Stage 2, qualifying for Champions 2024. They made it to the playoffs but were eliminated by Team Heretics, finishing in the Top 4.
In September 2024, TenZ and Sacy announced their retirements from competitive Valorant. Sentinels signed Reduxx and moved Rahul “curry” Nemani to the active roster for the Red Bull Home Ground NA Qualifier, but they lost to Cloud9.
In October, Sentinels signed Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey and Sean “bang” Bezerra to their starting lineup, with Reduxx officially joining as their sixth man.
On September 14, 2024, one of Sentinels’ most legendary players, TenZ, retired from professional Valorant. He said he had an amazing career, made great memories, and met lifelong friends. Even though he’s retired, he still plays Valorant with his fiancée, Kyedae. He also streams on Twitch, where he does both IRL (in real life) and Valorant content.
Now, the big question is: who do you think is the best Valorant esports team?
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