Sentinels remove Kaplan amid roster controversy, Ewok steps in as head coach

They don’t wait announced the departure of its coach Adam’kaplan‘ Kaplan following the organization’s winless run 2026 VCT Kickoff Americas.

The move was made because conflicts about his roster decisions this season. As a result, he will be replaced by Martin’.Wow‘ van der Walt before Phase 1.

In addition, Amine’johnqt‘ Ouarid will be taking on the role of IGL again. Sentinels CEO Rob Moore also revealed the possibility two additional program changesas the cases begin on Tuesday.

“We do not take decisions like these lightly, but we also do not believe in waiting when it is clear that we are on the wrong path,” Rob Moore said in a press release.

“What we saw at Kickoff wasn’t just a problem of results; the team wasn’t developing the chemistry we needed. Rather than let that continue, we’re making changes now to give ourselves the best chance to qualify for Champs 2026.”

As kaplan becomes a free agent, here is the updated Sentinels VALORANT lineup:

Prior to joining Sentinels, Ewok spent three years as RRQ Senior Coach at VCT Pacific and helped the team lift the Stage 1 trophy and finish second in Stage 2 in 2025.

“Ewok has shown the ability to develop a successful VCT roster as he leads RRQ to the APAC Stage 1 Championship in 2025, as well as qualifying for Champions Paris. He impressed us with his ability to develop a structure to build long-term development for the team,” Moore added.

Speaking of Tarik’tarik‘ Celik’s broadcast, Rob Moore explained that there were two main reasons for Kaplan’s removal. According to him, the American head coach wanted to remove johnqt from the role of IGL, something the player never wanted, and replace Zachary’.zek‘ Patrone away from the duelist’s position.

The guards did not agree to these changes; however, because of terms of the contract instead, Kaplan ultimately had the final say on roster decisions. Moore shared that the organization will not give that level of authority to any head coach going forward.

“Kaplan went to six out of seven tournaments with Zekken as his first player and johnqt as his IGL. So, when Kaplan returned [Champions] Paris, his solution to how the season ended, was to replace Zekken as the main player and johnqt as the IGL. That was not something we agreed on,” he said.

He also pointed out that i the players themselves agreed that the team needed changes and that it was not on track to win international VCT events.

Finally, I move on, Marshall’N4RRATE‘ Massey will no longer be on the team’s front line. The role will be played by Yassin’duxx‘ Aboulalazm or the organization may sign a new list.

Rob Moore explained that due to the roster’s performance at Kickoff, the Sentinels will likely miss out Champions Shanghai. The organization failed to get any Championship Points at the event, leaving it far behind the other teams.

“To get to a point where you can’t score where we are right now is so difficult that we’ll have to finish second to get into the championship. There’s a chance we’ll miss out on the Champions this year,” said Moore.

Therefore, the focus is on building a top-level roster 2027 VCT season. Moore shared that if the team does not qualify for next year’s inaugural Masters event, the new changes will be considered a failure.

The new Sentinels will take the stage during VCT Americas Stage 1, starting April 10. Fans will be able to see the action live on VCT’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.