Cortezia on Sentinels' roster moves and TenZ: "In the end, it didn’t happen for personal reasons... But yes, we did trial him"

Afted a disappointing run through VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Kickoff, Sentinels decided to shake up the roster before the start of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1. With a spot at Masters London on the line, and their position as a powerhouse of the Americas truly hanging from a thread, the team and all of its fans will be hoping for a complete turnaround come time to take the stage once more.

Before the start of Stage 1, THESPIKE Brazil had the chance to sit down with Sentinels' player Gabriel "cortezia" Cortez, who opened up about the team's recent form, the roster shuffle, and his own position on the squad.

It could have been me, but it ended up being Kyu, kaplan, and N4RRATE.

Necessary Roster Moves

When asked about the recent roster changes, cortezia was clear these felt necessary: "We finished 10th out of 12 teams, so changes were really needed."

And yet, despite admitting the team needed something to change, cortezia didn't shy away from expressing how much belief he had in Sentinels' Kickoff roster.

I felt like the old Sentinels roster had a lot of potential and really strong names. I even disagree with a lot of the community criticism, including toward N4RRATE and others, because I saw the team day to day and watched all the other teams they faced—I knew there was a lot of potential.

In fact, cortezia believed in his team so much that he thought maybe a little bit of time to continue to gel and find a working synergy was all they needed. Of course, the organization didn't see it that way in the end.

Maybe if we had stayed together, our Stage 1 would’ve been much better, but the organization, staff, and players decided to make changes to reach our highest level.

Leaning into the TenZ rumors

Once it was clear Sentinels would be making roster moves ahead of Stage 1, one of the biggest names that would always pop up was that of Tyson "TenZ" Ngo. Over the past month, the former Sentinels superstar was consistently rumored to be in contention to join the team. In truth, these were far more than just rumors.

If TenZ ever wants to come back, the organization will do everything to make it happen. He’s one of the most successful names in the scene—the face of VALORANT. When people think of VALORANT, they think of TenZ.

As cortezia confirmed, TenZ even got as far as to trial with the team. For fans of Sentinels and TenZ alike, this reunion would have been nothing short of miraculous. In the end, though, it simply wasn't meant to be.

In the end, it didn’t happen for personal reasons I can’t talk about. But yes, we did trial him. In the end, we signed Jerrwin.

And while everyone would have been thrilled to see TenZ don the Sentinels jersey once more, cortezia feels confident that signing Gurjiwan "Jerrwin" Gill was not the wrong decision.

We’re very happy with Jerrwin. He’s been dominating in scrims, always top fragging. The TenZ situation was basically that: we tested him, and like Rob said, he’ll always have a place in Sentinels. But we chose Jerrwin and we’re happy with that decision.

Aiming High with Sentinels

Generally, with a brand new roster come new expectations. When it comes to a team like Sentinels, however, the goal always remains the same. With Stage 1 right around the corner, cortezia and the rest of the team will want to do everything they can to make sure Kickoff becomes nothing but a blip in the Sentinels story.

The expectation is to qualify for every international event. We missed the first one in Santiago, and it hurts every day. We know that playing for Sentinels comes with a lot of pressure, but it’s good pressure. It’s a respected and winning organization, and I don’t want my time here to be any different. So the goal is to win, not just qualify for internationals, but also win regionals.

The new Sentinels roster will make their debut on the opening match of Stage 1 of the VCT Americas. The team is set to take on KRÜ Esports on Friday, April 10, effectively kicking off both the tournament and their new journey on a single note. To make sure the note is a good one, cortezia knows it's all "about putting in the work every day and showing it in matches."

You can watch the full video interview with cortezia in the original Portuguese below:

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

Featured Image Source: Riot Games