TSM FTX benches Drone after another unsuccessful open qualifier

TSM FTX has benched Taylor “drone” Johnson from the starting Valorant roster, the organization has announced.

The team is now looking to find a replacement for the 23-year-old, who remains on the bench. It is unknown whether Johnson was allowed to look for another team himself, although looking at his achievements in the past year, he would make a profitable addition for many line-ups.

As of today, @Dronecsgo is benched from our starting Valorant roster. We'll be trialing players to find our permanent 5th ahead of Qualifiers 2.

— TSM FTX (@TSM) July 5, 2021

The sudden roster change is most notably a result of poor placements in first qualifiers for Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 3 Challengers 1. TSM lost to Noble in the open round of qualifiers, losing its chance to take part in the upcoming Challengers 1.

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The news first surfaced thanks to Upcomer, which reports, that TSM has “contacted multiple organizations in the region to recruit one player for their roster”. Although the North American squad has shortlisted a few options for replacement, the final one is yet to be decided.

It won’t take long until we get to know TSM’s new player, as the team will be looking to advance to Challengers 2 through an open qualifier, which starts on July 22.