NRG part ways with assistant coach Strong

NRG has officially parted ways with their assistant coach Joseph "Strong" Edwards following the team’s third-place finish at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026.

NRG has stood as one of the top teams in the VCT Americas region ever since winning VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions at the end of the VCT 2025 season. Since then, the team has been able to manage itself well by finishing third at both Kickoff and Masters Santiago . Now, they will be looking to maintain that level of success without longtime assistant coach Strong after it was revealed that the organization would be parting ways ahead of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1.

Strong had joined NRG ahead of the VCT 2025 season where he had helped the team rebuild from their 7th-8th place finish in VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Americas Stage 1 to a championship-winning run at VALORANT Champions Paris 2025. He remained with the team at the start of the VCT 2026 season where he helped Malkolm "bonkar" Rench in leading the team to a third-place finish at VALORANT Masters Santiago.

What’s next for NRG Strong?

Now that his chapter with NRG has come to a close, Strong will now look towards new opportunities in VALORANT coaching. With VCT Americas Stage 1 nearly on its way, it will be interesting to see who ultimately adds Strong to their coaching infrastructure. For now, he will use the remainder of the offseason to field offers from other VCT teams.

As for NRG, it will be interesting to see how they adjust their coaching structure now that their assistant coach is exiting the squad. In Stage 1, NRG have been slotted into Group Omega alongside Evil Geniuses, FURIA, 100 Thieves, KRÜ Esports, and Sentinels.

Be sure to follow THESPIKE.GG more VALORANT esports content like this as we head closer to the start of VCT Americas Stage 1.

(Photo by Liu YiCun/Riot Games)