Will zekken Leave MIBR in 2026?

Competitive Valorant has given rise to multiple talented professional players, but zekken stands as a powerful fragger even among them. While his glory days were definitely when he was on Sentinels during their iconic run, the player is now part of MIBR, which promised to create a super team.
Unfortunately for zekken, the team has fallen short of that promise. With a disappointing 2026 season, rumors have started that zekken will leave MIBR in 2026. Will this really be the case, or will zekken decide to tough it out and try building something great? Traders on the prediction market Polymarket certainly have strong opinions on the matter.
Image credit: Polymarket
zekken’s form
Competitive FPS games have seen multiple super teams dominate their respective games, but few have climbed to the top from the start. MIBR has some powerhouse players, with aspas and zekken being two of the best fraggers in the game. Still, the team wasn’t able to even make a ripple in the 2026 competitive season.
The team was unable to even crack the top three in any tournament, whether it was the Esports World Cup or this year’s VCT season. While it’s nothing new for teams to find themselves in slumps, zekken’s overall performance has been fairly decent. While the player’s Stage 2 performance was decent, earning him a 0.99 rating, he boasted an impressive 1.05 rating in Stage 1.
Not to mention, zekken is arguably the biggest name on the team. While aspas has definitely earned his flowers, his following and overall fan power are nowhere close to the former Sentinels superstar. It isn’t a stretch to say that most teams would pay a lot to even get a chance to sign zekken to their active roster.
MIBR 2026 roster – Image credit: Riot Games
Polymarket traders predict zekken will leave MIBR in 2026
Keeping all of this in mind, Polymarket traders currently believe that zekken will realize he’d be better on a different team and leave MIBR in 2026. A substantial 79% believe that the player will bid farewell to MIBR this year, while only 21% think he’ll stay. The team’s subpar performance in VCT Stage 2 pushed the numbers to one side, suggesting that many want zekken to find a home on some other team.
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On this market specifically, leaving MIBR doesn’t just refer to the player breaking his contract with the team. Just being removed from the active roster, retirement, or even permanent departure from the team will all count as zekken leaving. A temporary stand-in absence or loan that ensures the player will ultimately return to the team won’t count.
☑️ My Take
Despite the overwhelming majority believing that zekken will leave MIBR in 2026, I do not think that’s likely. According to findings on Riot’s official VCT contract database, zekken’s contract with MIBR will expire at the end of 2027. This doesn’t guarantee that the player won’t seek a home elsewhere, but it does give him an incentive to stay.
If MIBR wanted to switch up the team, then it would likely be much easier to replace tex, whose contract will reportedly expire near the end of 2026.
zekken is one of the most valuable North American players, but MIBR has already spent a lot to build its “super team”. A strong NA team could theoretically give MIBR an attractive buyout offer, but that would require MIBR’s cooperation and the team admitting that its plan for a super team was a failure.
Most of the rumors that zekken would leave MIBR started because of a post on X that claimed the player had attacked his teammates and demanded to be released. However, this was confirmed to be fake. On the contrary, zekken stated that he was disappointed with the team’s results; he elaborated that he wanted to build and improve with the roster.
For me, it is hard to see zekken risk his reputation with other organizations and demand to leave MIBR by breaking the contract. I think Polymarket traders are off the mark or haven’t learned about the fake social media post.
Feature image credit: Riot Games
Hannan Mundia is a lifelong gamer. Don’t believe us? Just ask him. But don’t ask how many hours he’s spent playing. He’s been gaming since the age of three, and much of his live revolves around video games and the video game industry. Whether it’s a classic Legend of Zelda game from Nintendo, the newest Bethesda RPG, or something else entirely, you can bet that Hannan is ready and willing to play it.
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