Valorant coach fRoD leaves T1 due to "difference of ethics"

Olivia Richman Published 14/01/2021

T1’s Valorant team has parted ways with coach Daniel “fRoD” Montaner. 

On Wednesday night, fRoD took to Twitter to announce his departure, stating that he was no longer with T1 due to a “difference of ethics and opinions” on how the Valorant team was supposed to be run. It is unclear what caused this tension within the team. T1 has not made any roster changes since September 2020.

“Wish the players the best of luck,” fRoD tweeted. 

fRoD ended his tweet by stating that he was open to coaching opportunities in Valorant elsewhere. The 34-year-old signed with T1 last May. While coaching the squad, fRoD saw his Valorant team place second at the T1 x Nerd Street Gamers Showdown, seventh at Pop Flash, and then fifth at First Strike: North America. 

fRoD’s esports career started in Counter-Strike. He played the game professionally for 15 years, competing for Complexity Gaming and Evil Geniuses. fRoD gave Overwatch a shot before returning to CSGO as coach of Swole Patrol. He later retired and switched to Valorant alongside Swole Patrol player Braxton “brax” Pierce. The coach’s fans on Twitter said that T1 was making a “mistake” letting fRoD go, but most within the Valorant community expressed confidence that fRoD would find a home with another organization pretty easily. 

T1 will also be looking for a new coach to fill fRoD’s position with the Valorant Champions Tour right around the corner. 

Who is on T1 Valorant? 

Valorant is a relatively new esport and T1 jumped into the game even before Riot announced their official tournaments. Their squad consists of players who made a name for themselves in CSGO. Most were signed mid-2020: 

• Sam “DaZed” Marine
• Braxton “brax” Pierce
• Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham
• Ha “Spyder” Jung-woo
• Kevin “AZK” Lariviere

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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