The decorated EXO Clan outfit is making the trek over to North America, with the Oceanic squad joining Soniqs for Valorant Champions Tour 2021, sources have told Snowball Esports. All five players will be making the journey together after their First Strike Oceania triumph.
After dominating the local scene across 2020, including an Ignition Series win at Rise of Valour and First Strike, EXO Clan are now primed to take on some of the world’s best in NA.
The core, consisting Bob, IyeN, pl1xx, dizzyLife, and Crunchy have joined Soniqs, sources close to the situation have told Snowball, who are looking to make their entrance into Valorant with the Australian roster.
EXO Clan dropped the roster on December 31. The organization reportedly won’t be signing a new roster to replace the departing core.
With permission from EXO and due to the recent announcement from Riot Games and their support within OCE for VALORANT, my team as five are looking for international opportunities – all of who are willing to move overseas to continue to pursue our careers in this space. 1/2
— iyen (@iyencs) November 26, 2020
It comes as no surprise to many. EXO’s reign over Oceanic Valorant has seen them rake in four titles and two second places across the six events they’ve entered. The squad had their sights set on North America as a core, and found the right opportunity in Soniqs.
“The end goal is for all of us to go overseas together because I feel like we could do really well against the NA teams,” Crunchy told Snowball back in December.
“If given the chance, my roster will rival top teams in any region,” pl1xx added in a separate interview.
Soniqs currently have teams in Rainbow Six, Rocket League, and PUBG. The latter includes Australian James “TGLTN” Giezen, previously of Chiefs.
The move also gives Soniqs a chance to compete in the Valorant Champions Tour. Challengers are set to start in early February, with four direct spots at Valorant Champions, penned for December, up for grabs across the year.
The new Soniqs Valorant roster will consist of:
- Bob “Bob” Tran
- Iyengaran “IyeN” Raju
- Chris “pl1xx” Li
- Kyran “dizzyLife” Crombie
- Ethan “Crunchy” Laker
