Chinese esports organization and reigning League of Legends world champions, FunPlus Phoenix have surprised the Valorant scene by signing a full Valorant squad.

While some FunPlus Phoenix fans might be shocked to learn that the new squad is all from Europe, long-time CS:GO fans will know that Europe is generally considered the strongest region for tactical FPS players.

FunPlus Phoenix’s new squad consists of four retired CS:GO pros: Tobias “shadow” Flodstrom, Johan “Meddo” Renbjörk, Andrey “shao” Kiprsky, and Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow. The fifth and final member of the squad is recently retired Fortnite pro, Pontus “Zyppan” Eek. The team previously played under the moniker, Team ZypanGoKill.

Team ZypanGoKill’s squad was formed from two different European stacks FABRIKEN and PartyParrots. Meddo, ShadoW, and Zyppan were previously with Swedish team FABRIKEN and finished in third place during the Vitality European Open. Meanwhile, ANGE1 and Shao were part of Russian squad PartyParrots, who disbanded after a fifth/sixth finish during the WePlay! Valorant Invitational.

The team was announced right before the start of the Allied Esports Odyssey Ignition Series tournament in Europe, which includes top European teams G2 Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and the newly signed Team Liquid squad.

As fate would have it, both FunPlus Phoenix and Team Liquid made their competitive Valorant debuts against one another on the first day of the Allied Esports Odyssey tournament.

The matches were played slow and methodical, with Liquid taking game one, but FPX taking game two to tie the series 1-1, thanks to clutch performances from Meddo, Zyppan, and ANGE1.

FunPlus Phoenix’s next challenge will be a big one, as they face the kings of European Valorant, G2 Esports on August 13 at 3:30 a.m GMT +8.

Fans can tune in through the official Valorant Twitch channel or the Allied Esports Twitch channel.

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