Lachlan Teh-
Yay, Marved, Crashies, Victor, and FNS. When asked about professional Valorant, someone is bound to mention one of these names. These five players made up OpTic’s professional Valorant team and were undeniably the most dominant players of 2022. However, nothing can last forever. By 2024, only two of these players remained on tier 1 professional teams, merely a shadow of the Titans they used to be.
At the inception of the VCT in early 2021, Sentinels had just won Masters Reykjavik, and OpTic’s Valorant team didn’t even exist yet. The players who would make up the OpTic core were currently playing under Envy, a respectable North American team. On August 5th, 2021, Envy signed star duelist Yay from Andbox. He was a flashy Jett main who was praised for his mechanics and aiming ability, making him the perfect player to compliment the rest of a more passive Envy. Envy was a respectable team going into NA Stage Two but was not nearly on the level of NA’s superteams: Sentinels and 100T. After placing third in Stage Two and beating XSET in a playoff match, many began to catch onto Envy’s potential going into Masters Berlin.
Envy had become known for their suffocatingly passive playstyle, leaving teams paranoid until they overextended into Yay’s crosshair. Envy was treated to a relatively easy group stage, facing Vivo Keyd in their first match. VK was a newly formed team from the Brazilian league, and although their star duelist in Heat was a threat, the game went 2-0 in favor of Envy. In Yay’s first international LAN, he showcased his mechanical prowess and potential to the world, going 47-33 throughout Bind and Icebox. In their first playoff match, Envy proved that they were a true force to be reckoned with when they defeated Sentinels 2-0 in the playoffs. The Sentinels, who were reigning champions, had just been beaten by an obscure North American team coming up from tier two. This match marked the start of Envy/OpTic’s rise to domination and, conversely, the beginning of the end for Sentinels. Yay continued to shine throughout Masters Berlin, making it to the Grand Final. The only problem was that the team in their way was Gambit Esports, a Russian team that had gone undefeated until this point, only dropping one map in the tournament. Envy was slammed 3-0, and though blame has been placed on their inexperience and incompetence, it is more likely that Gambit’s aggressive playstyle and overall stronger game sense allowed them to defeat Envy. Although they had come short in the finals, Envy had established themselves as a top team going into 2022.
In 2022, Envy had performed astoundingly well and qualified for Masters Reykjavik, but not before they merged with OpTic Gaming. OpTic bought Envy in June, and their team transformed into what was soon known as the “Green Wall.” OpTic was crowned victors at Master’s Reykjavik and placed 2nd at Champions 2022 in Istanbul. At this point, OpTic was undoubtedly the strongest team in the world, and Yay was unchallenged by anyone but his Brazilian counterpart in LOUD’s Aspas. 2022 solidified OpTic’s place as a Valorant giant, which is still highly respected. However, biographical information can only take you so far — why exactly was OpTic so dominant?
Although Yay is the obvious explanation for OpTic’s success, the rest of the team was exceedingly crucial for their preeminence; how can the guitarist shine without a bass? It all starts in the brain. FNS was OpTic’s In-Game Leader (IGL) and had arguably the strongest mid-round calling in Valorant history. He found success in passive agents like Viper and Killjoy, where he could call for his team and play off of utility to succeed. Victor was the secondary duelist as well as a flex and was a critical piece to site entry and control around the map. Victor was an entry-heavy Raze main who flourished in chaos. Unlike Yay, Victor’s play did not center around pure aim, but rather mechanical ability and movement. Crashies was the undisputed strongest flex player of 2022, abusing agents like pre-nerf Skye and Breach, setting up his team for free frags and map control. The flex combo of Victor and Crashies was the key component for Yay’s dominance, often not even having to set himself up for engagements. Marved was OpTic’s primary controller, who developed a lurking style unlike his predecessors in nAts or Vanity. He clutched countless rounds when he was the last alive, outplaying virtually everyone in 1v1s, earning him the moniker “Ice Man.” Finally, Yay, the most mechanically gifted player on the team, tied it all together for OpTic. Describing Yay’s ability outside mechanics is difficult because that was all he ever needed. Initially, Yay was a strong Jett main, but what propelled him into the stratosphere was the release of Chamber. Chamber and Yay were a match made in heaven. Chamber complemented Yay’s playstyle with his teleport, allowing Yay to focus solely on his superior aim.
All 5 of these parts made OpTic great, but what catalyzed the fall? It wasn’t necessarily a gradual fall from greatness nor a fault of the players. After Champions 2022, Riot Games announced the beginning of Valorant’s franchised era, where specific teams were selected to play in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT). Unfortunately, because of shaky finances, OpTic was not chosen as one of the franchised teams and was left out of the VCT in 2023. Because of franchising, the five players were forced to join other teams, marking the end of OpTic in Valorant. OpTic became Valorant Esports’ biggest “what if” following the start of franchising, and a legacy that had just begun was stopped in its tracks. At the start of 2023, FNS, Victor, and Crashies joined a highly anticipated NRG, Marved joined the hallowed Sentinels, while Yay signed for C9. Initially, these signings seemed logical, and all three teams were expected to perform with ex-champions in their squad. However, what happened to OpTic’s core throughout 2023 was expected by no one. Firstly, Yay, the highly anticipated player of 2023, was shockingly let go from C9’s roster. The community was furious, and C9 was accused of scandalous behavior for letting Yay go. The first question was about C9 owner Jack Etienne’s claim that Yay was fired because of “role issues” within the squad. This made no sense, as no duelist was competing with Yay on the roster, and if there indeed were role issues, any logical person would make room for Yay, not kick him. To this day, it is unclear if C9 was involved in a scandal, but this conflict started Yay’s fall from grace. Because he was let go, Yay could not play tier 1 Valorant in 2023, and to this day, he has been unable to ignite the sparks that made him great. For Marved, it was a similar situation. He was benched early in 2023 by the Sentinels and, like Yay, has never been able to get back in form.
It is a bit more complicated for FNS, Crashies, and Victor. NRG was disappointing during 2023 and never lived up to the expectations they had built with three champions on their roster. It was not necessarily a fault of the individual abilities of Victor, FNS, and Crashies, but more their inability to adapt to their new circumstances because of their off-meta, rigid playstyle. The other two players on NRG, Ardiis and Som, were solid, but they were not Yay and Marved. Additionally, Ardiis and Som pushed Victor and FNS off their main roles, making it difficult for them to showcase their full potential. By the end of a depressing season, FNS had retired at 32, and NRG was rebuilt around EG’s star duelist, Demon1.
It is hard to pinpoint a singular reason for the collective downfall of OpTic’s core after 2022, but it is clear that it was mainly out of their control. No one on the team had expected to be left out of franchising, so coming into 2023 on different teams, they were unprepared for the sudden changes in roster and roles. However, the players’ lack of versatility and obedience to a fluid meta left them stuck in the past, leaving them vulnerable to teams specializing in counterstrating and VOD analysis. No matter the cause for their decline, OpTic is a household name in Valorant Esports, widely remembered as the Green Wall leveled by no one.
The Dutch Report 