Key facts
- Riot Games excluded Cloud9 from the VCT Americas partnership program for 2027 and 2028, opening the door for OXY to join a partnered team with an available spot.
- Sentinels chief executive Rob Moore said on October 31 that the team had identified replacements it considered "S-tier" but could not announce them before November 2 at the earliest.
- Sentinels did not qualify for any international VCT event in 2026, and its season ended with a 2-0 loss to KRÜ Esports in the VCT Americas Stage 2 Play-In.
- According to Sheep Esports and the Riot Games contract database, OXY's deal with Cloud9 was scheduled to run through the end of 2028.
Sentinels signed Francis “OXY” Hoang from Cloud9 on November 2, 2026, making him the organization’s first roster addition for the VCT (Valorant Champions Tour) 2027 season on the opening day of free agency.
Riot Games excluded Cloud9 from the VCT Americas partnership program for 2027 and 2028. The league was cut to eight partnered organizations, removing Cloud9 alongside FURIA and Evil Geniuses. Sentinels kept its partnership place for 2027 and 2028, leaving OXY eligible to join a partnered team with an open roster spot.?
Sentinels announced the departures of Gurjiwan “Jerrwin” Gill and Jonah “JonahP” Pulice on Oct. 30, clearing room on the roster. Both players spent less than a year with the team. Mohamed Amine “johnqt” Ouarid, Yassin “Reduxx” Aboulalazm and Gabriel “cortezia” Cortez remained under contract for 2027, leaving Sentinels one starter short of a full five-player lineup. Cortezia is Brazilian.
Sentinels chief executive Rob Moore said on Oct. 31 that the team had identified replacements it considered S-tier but could not announce them before November 2 at the earliest. The signing landed on the first day of the transfer window.
Sentinels did not qualify for any international VCT event in 2026, and its season ended with a 2-0 loss to KRÜ Esports in the VCT Americas Stage 2 Play-In. The team placed ninth to 10th at Americas Kickoff and Stage 1, and 11th to 12th at Stage 2 during the 2026 season. Sentinels competed at five international events across 2024 and 2025 before missing all international events in 2026.
OXY joined Cloud9 in September 2023 and spent three years with the organization before departing for Sentinels. He left after 1,159 days, 44 matches and 106 maps, recording a 252.23 ACS (average combat score), 159.41 ADR (average damage per round) and 1.15 kill-death ratio over 2,244 rounds. According to Sheep Esports and the Riot Games contract database, Cloud9 scheduled OXY’s deal to run through the end of 2028. Cloud9 failed to qualify for Masters or Champions throughout OXY’s tenure, including all three major international events in 2026.
OXY finished as the highest-rated player at 2025 VCT Americas Stage 2, according to THESPIKE. In 2024, he posted 289.15 ACS, 185.63 ADR and a 1.26 kill-death ratio across 18 maps. Over his Cloud9 tenure, he recorded a 71.77 percent KAST (kill-assist-survive-trade rate) and a 28.10 percent headshot rate.
OXY won 58.49 percent of his first duels in 2024, posting 93 opening kills against 66 opening deaths for a plus-27 differential. He secured 188 first kills in 2025 and 182 first kills in 2026 while maintaining positive opening-duel margins. His defensive metrics rest on 1,076 kills over his Cloud9 tenure.
OXY is 21 years old. His competitive career began in 2022 with smaller teams including Vireo.pro and Dark Ratio. He played for G2 Esports starting in December 2022 and helped the team finish second at the VALORANT Challengers North America Mid-Season Face Off in March 2023 before leaving G2 in July.
OXY helped Cloud9 win the TEN VALORANT Global Invitational 2023, place second at Red Bull Home Ground #4 in 2023, reach the Red Bull Home Ground #5 final in 2024, and finish fourth at VCT Americas Stage 2 in 2025. He topped the worldwide Stage 2 average combat score list with 287.5 ACS at one point in August 2025.
OXY will debut with Sentinels at the newly formatted VCT Americas Kickoff event, which includes eight permanent partners and open qualifiers for four remaining slots. Sentinels expects him to assume the primary duelist role held by Jerrwin. Sentinels did not reveal the length of OXY’s contract in the announcement. Sentinels will look to OXY to dictate tempo and secure an immediate advantage in the race for the season’s first international Masters qualification.
Further roster announcements are expected in the coming weeks as the 2027 VCT season takes shape. Sentinels carries four players and two coaches after the OXY signing, with one starting position still unfilled. Sentinels manager Bryan “Zyto” Ybanez stayed with the organization after the roster moves.?
The transfer window already featured MIBR benching its full roster as other organizations reshaped lineups before VCT 2027. Cloud9 said it plans to keep competing in VALORANT through the open circuit despite losing its VCT Americas partnership status for 2027 and 2028. Cloud9 is conducting open tryouts for participation in qualifiers as it rebuilds its roster.
Lion Esports reported on Oct. 28 that NRG initiator Brock “brawk” Somerhalder, the 2025 VALORANT Champions MVP, reached a verbal agreement with Sentinels, though neither the club nor the player confirmed the move. Journalist Alejandro “Anonimotum” Gomis reported the OXY-to-Sentinels move on Oct. 24, and Sentinels made it official on November 2 through its X account.
Sentinels is among 10 teams competing for $100,000 at Red Bull Home Ground 2026, scheduled for Dec. 10-13, 2026 in Los Angeles, USA. Sentinels announced OXY with a social media video introducing a new era and an X post identifying @Lft_Oxy as officially a Sentinel.
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