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Valorant’s very own TenZ recently announced his retirement from the competitive scene and it came as a shock to the community. The 23-year-old superstar from Canada last played the Controller role for the North American team Sentinels and his final tournament was the VCT Champions Seoul 2024.
TenZ has been a decorated Valorant player since the very beginning. His trophy cabinet includes the VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik and VCT 2024: Masters Madrid. On top of it, he has also had numerous MVP-worthy performances throughout his career.
With him having announced his retirement, let us take a trip down memory lane and look at some of his best plays that highlight this 23-year-old's career.
5 iconic TenZ plays to remember as he retires from competitive Valorant
1) Sentinels vs Fnatic round 18 on Haven (VCT 2021 Stage 2: Masters Reykjavik Upper Quarterfinal)
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VCT Masters Reykjavik 2021 is what brought TenZ to the spotlight. This is just one of the many highlights from his first major tournament win. TenZ dominated with a Marshal on C Long in a post-plant scenario with four kills including three incredible headshots.
He showed off his insane mechanical skills with a high-skill cap gun like Marshal and cemented his position as one of the best to wield the weapon. Moreover, this round set the tempo of the match, which his team eventually went on to win.
2) Sentinels vs Envy round 7 on Haven (VCT 2021 Stage 3: Masters Berlin Quarterfinal)
Old school TenZ on Jett was a sight to behold. His precise aim combined with the flashy playstyle of Jett with Blade Storm will forever be remembered. Sentinels were on an eco on round 7 and in an almost impossible-to-win retake. However, the 23-year-old soon stepped up and delivered four incredible kills to secure the round and give his team a fighting chance.
3) Sentinels vs NRG final round on Sunset (VCT Americas 2024 Kickoff Semifinal)
It was the final round of the first map between Sentinels and NRG and the score was 11-12. Sentinels needed to win the last round to force Overtime and none other than TenZ was on the case. He used Omen’s Shrouded Step to get himself on top of the box in B Market and landed three back-to-back headshots over the smoke on the NRG players entering the site through B Main. Finally, he finished off the clip with a wall bang kill through the same box.
This 4K is even more impressive as the winner of this series earned a spot in the VCT Masters Madrid 2024. In fact, the play was so legendary that the spot on top of the box in B Market is now colloquially known as ‘The TenZ Spot.’
4) Sentinels vs Team Heretics first pistol round on Lotus (VCT Masters Madrid 2024: Swiss Stage Round 1)
This iconic clip with the Classic marked Tenz’s return to the Valorant International Stage. It showed his incredible mechanical skill and understanding of the game as he dodged and weaved through flashes and stuns to ace his opponents.
His precise aim combined with Omen’s kit dominated the A Rubble fight in the first round. Moreover, this also re-established Sentinels as a dominant force in Valorant as they went on to win the entire tournament and get their hands on an International trophy since Reykjavik 2021.
5) Sentinels vs GenG round 16 on Breeze (VCT Masters Madrid 2024: Grand Final)
Finally, we cannot expect to have a Sentinels win without getting to see a TenZ clutch moment. He is left in a 1v2 situation, on the attacker side, with the spike already being defused.
TenZ then managed to outaim the opposing Jett, who tried to make an aggressive play before using his KAY/O molly to stop the defuse with milliseconds left on the clock. What made this play legendary is that this was the Grand Final of a Masters tournament and the pressure could not have been higher. Sentinels went on to win the Bo5 series and claim the trophy.
TenZ’s retirement definitely came as a shock. However, he stated that this was his plan since the beginning of the year since he wanted to focus more on content creation and his personal life. It is needless to say he will be dearly missed in the competitive scene and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest ever to play Valorant.
