NRG parts ways with head coach Mikes

After a lackluster performance in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Americas Stage 1, NRG has gone back to the drawing board after yet another early exit from the playoffs. The team is looking for answers, and it seems they've made a major decision for their VALORANT division by dropping their head coach Michael "Mikes" Hockom.

A disappointing run for a hyped roster

At the beginning of 2025, NRG was touted as another championship contender alongside big names such as Sentinels and G2 Esports. They had a ton of firepower from one of the best Controller players in the region with Sam "s0m" Oh, young firey upstart Adam "mada" Pampuch, the expert knowledge from in-game leader Pujan "FNS" Mehta, and the championship experience from Ethan "Ethan" Arnold. It seemed like the perfect storm for NRG to finally make a deep run towards a trophy. Mikes was also a new addition to the group, with plenty of hopes on his shoulders to lead this team to greatness.

However, some roster drama was added into the mix with the sudden, early removal of Andrew "Verno" Maust from the roster, causing question marks to surface around what was happening with the team. Brock "brawk" Somerhalder was added in his place, but he could not match the firepower that Verno brought to the table. After the drama settled, the games began, and it was clear that NRG could not find consistency with their play. Even though s0m was cosplaying as Superman on stage for the roster often, his superheroic efforts were not enough to bring composure to NRG. After the second week of play, the team went on a winless skid for two weeks, before winning vs. Leviatán to barely earn their place in playoffs.

Against 100 Thieves, they lost their map pick of Haven and were dominated in the 100 Thieves' map pick of Fracture. It was unceremonious and lackluster, and not like the result that many people expected for this team. It seems like change is in order, and the first domino to fall for the organization is Mikes. According to Mikes, he and the team had "differences in opinion on the future of the team," and as a result, he was removed from the staff. It isn't known what these differences were, but this could be the first of many changes for NRG before Stage Two begins.

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