LOUD decides to keep Virtyy at Romanilly's request

After opting to bench Leandro "Virtyy" Moreno following the team's disappointing performance at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Kickoff, it seems LOUD is now going back on their decision. According to a report by THESPIKE Brazil, the Dominican player will remain a starter for LOUD for VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1.

Virtyy Impresses During Tryouts

Currently, the team's head coach Gonzalo "Romanilly" Manzano has "full authority" over LOUD's VALORANT squad, with tryouts as well as overall team direction being led by him. When Virtyy was originally benched after the end of Kickoff, however, the decision seemed to come directly from LOUD's management.

Despite the benching, Virtyy took part in the team's tryouts. Now, it appears that according to Romanilly's assessment as well as that of the players themselves, Virtyy was the player that stood out the most during tryouts.

Part of this stemmed from the fact that, while trying out foreign players and communicating in English, the team saw a considerable decline in form. This led LOUD to prioritize finding a Portuguese-speaking replacement for Virtyy. After encountering a lack of options having narrowed their scope so, it was Romanilly's assessment that it was best for the project to carry on with Virtyy on the starting lineup.

As for Bryan "pANcada" Luna, the veteran player will remain on the bench. In his place, the Chilean Roberto "erde" Lobos will start for LOUD come time for Stage 1.

LOUD VALORANT roster for Stage 1 2026:

• Leandro "Virtyy" Moreno
• Sebastián "Darker" Cicuamia
• Roberto "erde" Lobos
• Cauan "cauanzin" Pereira
• Lucca "luk xo" Travaioli
• Bryan "pANcada" Luna (Bench)
• Gonzalo "Romanilly" Manzano (Head Coach)

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