We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.

The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Esports remains volatile.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Esports remains volatile.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dot Esports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png?resize=768,432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"George Geddes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GeorgeCGed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"George Geddes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"George Geddes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce\"},\"headline\":\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\"},\"wordCount\":258,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Valorant\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\",\"name\":\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"Esports remains volatile.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1152,\"caption\":\"Photo via Riot Games\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Dot Esports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce\",\"name\":\"George Geddes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7291c0faf8411fe306d6d851c0593e40\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"caption\":\"George Geddes\"},\"description\":\"George is an investigative journalist from the United Kingdom.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/GeorgeCGed\",\"[email protected]\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/georgegeddes\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","description":"Esports remains volatile.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","og_description":"Esports remains volatile.","og_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","og_site_name":"Dot Esports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","article_published_time":"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png?resize=768,432","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"George Geddes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GeorgeCGed","twitter_site":"@DotEsports","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"George Geddes","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs"},"author":{"name":"George Geddes","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce"},"headline":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","datePublished":"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs"},"wordCount":258,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","articleSection":["Valorant"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","name":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","datePublished":"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00","description":"Esports remains volatile.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","width":2048,"height":1152,"caption":"Photo via Riot Games"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce","name":"George Geddes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7291c0faf8411fe306d6d851c0593e40","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"George Geddes"},"description":"George is an investigative journalist from the United Kingdom.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/GeorgeCGed","[email protected]"],"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/georgegeddes"}]}},"raw_content":"North American organization The Guard has chosen to keep its VALORANT roster under contract for the time being, sources told Dot Esports.\u00a0 Amid mass layoffs at the company across various sectors such as design, social media, management, and talent, speculation arose in the community yesterday regarding the future of The Guard\u2019s VALORANT roster, Call of Duty team, and Overwatch League franchise, which are owned by parent company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.\u00a0 The VALORANT roster, which is set to play next Monday, Feb. 27, in the North American Challengers league, will remain under the organization for now. The most likely outcome is that The Guard will attempt to sell the players in the future, but this remains unclear.\u00a0 The Esports Advocate reported today that The Guard's CoD and OWL teams\u2014the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Los Angeles Gladiators\u2014are set to remain operational too until a buyer is found for both teams. Many of The Guard\u2019s players are considered some of the hottest prospects in North American VALORANT. During the offseason, Sentinels was one of the teams interested in signing Trent, the team\u2019s most valuable asset, according to sources. The move failed to materialize, however.\u00a0 Mass layoffs have become commonplace in the esports industry recently due to market instability and a looming recession. The war in Ukraine has disrupted international trade while investors are pulling out of esports, which is the main source of income for most organizations in the industry.\u00a0","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1750"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806017"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806037,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017\/revisions\/806037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/755820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=806017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":806017,"date":"2023-02-23T15:36:29","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T20:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?p=806017"},"modified":"2023-02-23T16:26:05","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T21:26:05","slug":"the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","title":{"rendered":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

North American organization The Guard has chosen to keep its VALORANT <\/em>roster under contract for the time being, sources told Dot Esports. <\/p>

Amid mass layoffs at the company<\/a> across various sectors such as design, social media, management, and talent, speculation arose in the community yesterday regarding the future of The Guard\u2019s VALORANT <\/em>roster, Call of Duty<\/em> team, and Overwatch<\/em> League franchise, which are owned by parent company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. <\/p>

The VALORANT <\/em>roster, which is set to play next Monday, Feb. 27, in the North American Challengers league, will remain under the organization for now. The most likely outcome is that The Guard will attempt to sell the players in the future, but this remains unclear. <\/p>

The Esports Advocate<\/a> reported today that The Guard’s CoD<\/em> and OWL<\/em> teams\u2014the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Los Angeles Gladiators\u2014are set to remain operational too until a buyer is found for both teams<\/a>.<\/p>

Many of The Guard\u2019s players are considered some of the hottest prospects in North American VALORANT<\/em>. During the offseason, Sentinels was one of the teams interested in signing Trent, the team\u2019s most valuable asset, according to sources. The move failed to materialize, however. <\/p>

Mass layoffs have become commonplace in the esports industry recently due to market instability and a looming recession. The war in Ukraine has disrupted international trade while investors are pulling out of esports, which is the main source of income for most organizations in the industry. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Esports remains volatile. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1750,"featured_media":755820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gamurs_wordpress_blocks_hide_tags":true,"_is_affiliated":false,"dotesports_deal_href":"","dotesports_featured_video":"","_notify_users":2,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-02-23T20:40:06Z","apple_news_api_id":"47e351e9-da9e-42bd-96f3-45c91a92c38d","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-02-23T20:40:06Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AR-NR6dqeQr2W80XJGpLDjQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44104],"tags":[],"invoiceable_action":[],"internal-label":[46550],"article_type":[44125],"coauthors":[{"id":1750,"display_name":"George Geddes","user_login":"georgegeddes","user_nicename":"georgegeddes"}],"class_list":["post-806017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valorant","internal-label-esports","article_type-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Esports remains volatile.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Esports remains volatile.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dot Esports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png?resize=768,432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"George Geddes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GeorgeCGed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"George Geddes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"George Geddes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce\"},\"headline\":\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\"},\"wordCount\":258,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Valorant\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\",\"name\":\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"Esports remains volatile.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1152,\"caption\":\"Photo via Riot Games\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Dot Esports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce\",\"name\":\"George Geddes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7291c0faf8411fe306d6d851c0593e40\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"caption\":\"George Geddes\"},\"description\":\"George is an investigative journalist from the United Kingdom.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/GeorgeCGed\",\"georgeged@yahoo.co\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/georgegeddes\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","description":"Esports remains volatile.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","og_description":"Esports remains volatile.","og_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","og_site_name":"Dot Esports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","article_published_time":"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png?resize=768,432","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"George Geddes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GeorgeCGed","twitter_site":"@DotEsports","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"George Geddes","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs"},"author":{"name":"George Geddes","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce"},"headline":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","datePublished":"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs"},"wordCount":258,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","articleSection":["Valorant"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs","name":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","datePublished":"2023-02-23T20:36:29+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-23T21:26:05+00:00","description":"Esports remains volatile.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","width":2048,"height":1152,"caption":"Photo via Riot Games"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/valorant\/news\/the-guard-to-retain-valorant-team-temporarily-despite-mass-layoffs#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Guard to retain VALORANT team temporarily despite mass layoffs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/82779f0f406fc0cb294e7e672a7bb9ce","name":"George Geddes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7291c0faf8411fe306d6d851c0593e40","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ce514161963179fb0c59e882d30790?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"George Geddes"},"description":"George is an investigative journalist from the United Kingdom.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/GeorgeCGed","georgeged@yahoo.co"],"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/georgegeddes"}]}},"raw_content":"North American organization The Guard has chosen to keep its VALORANT roster under contract for the time being, sources told Dot Esports.\u00a0 Amid mass layoffs at the company across various sectors such as design, social media, management, and talent, speculation arose in the community yesterday regarding the future of The Guard\u2019s VALORANT roster, Call of Duty team, and Overwatch League franchise, which are owned by parent company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.\u00a0 The VALORANT roster, which is set to play next Monday, Feb. 27, in the North American Challengers league, will remain under the organization for now. The most likely outcome is that The Guard will attempt to sell the players in the future, but this remains unclear.\u00a0 The Esports Advocate reported today that The Guard's CoD and OWL teams\u2014the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Los Angeles Gladiators\u2014are set to remain operational too until a buyer is found for both teams. Many of The Guard\u2019s players are considered some of the hottest prospects in North American VALORANT. During the offseason, Sentinels was one of the teams interested in signing Trent, the team\u2019s most valuable asset, according to sources. The move failed to materialize, however.\u00a0 Mass layoffs have become commonplace in the esports industry recently due to market instability and a looming recession. The war in Ukraine has disrupted international trade while investors are pulling out of esports, which is the main source of income for most organizations in the industry.\u00a0","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/11203750\/the-guard-round-out-2023-valorant-challengers-roster-with-nrg-pickup-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1750"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806017"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806037,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017\/revisions\/806037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/755820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=806017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Also Read