Global Esports has announced that the latest addition to their Valorant roster will be Russel "Russ" Mendes. Hailing from the United Kingdom, the former Guild player is set to bring European Valorant experience to the Pacific League. He is famous for his LAN appearance with Guild Esports during Masters Copenhagen 2022.
Global Esports had previously announced that LightningFast will be sticking with the team and will be in the 'Playing 5' for the VCT 2024 rebuild. The team also fields former Paper Rex IGL, Benkai who brings his deep game knowledge to the roster.
Also read: Global Esports Unveils LightningFast As Their Second Player For VCT 2024 Roster Rebuild
Global Esports Announce Former Guild Player For 2024 VCT Season
Russ has previously played for Guild Esports where he showed his potential as a player. With the team, he made it to VCT Masters Copenhagen 2022. Later, the player joined Les Petits Bouffons where he led the team in Challengers League Northern Europe Polaris. The roster looked strong in Challengers League but was not strong enough to make it to Ascension. The team lost against other big teams like Apeks and FOKUS Esports. Making his move to the Pacific region, Russ will be looking forward to achieving success in the Asian region.
Global Esports will also be fielding an import in the roster. Previously, speculations were centered around Russ being the import. However, Mendes had already cleared out the air, stating that he would be playing as a non-import in the Pacific region. The player is based in Goa, India, and will likely be returning to the country assuming he acquired his Indian citizenship.
Being the lowest-rated player in Masters Copenhagen, Global Esports and Russ received immense criticism for the roster move. In the announcement video, Global Esports hinted at the next player being Indonesian, likely being Blazek1ng. The only player whose future is uncertain is the Indian superstar, SkRossi.