Disguised Toast, a well-known content creator and streamer, had a terrible end to his Valorant season when his team was relegated from the NA Challengers League. The final blow was a 0-2 loss to MAD Lions in the Play-In Relegation Tournament’s lower group. Not only did they drop out of the league with this loss, but it also made it 11 matches in a row that they had lost.
At the start of the Challengers League, Disguised’s team had a 2-1 record, which was a good sign. Despite making a number of roster changes, they quickly got into a slump that they couldn’t get out of. One important addition was Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker, a former star player for OpTic Gaming. He joined the team just before Split 2, when everyone was expecting a lot from him. Unfortunately, Yay’s entry didn’t do much to change the team’s luck, and they lost their next five games in a row. This put them in a dangerous spot where they had to fight to stay in the league in the relegation stage, where only two of the four teams would stay.
Disguised was demoted to the lower bracket of the event on June 4 after suffering a 2-0 loss to OREsports. They were in a position where they had to win, so they went up against MAD Lions. MAD Lions won both games, 13-6 on Bind and 13-10 on Pearl. The loss to MAD Lions was the seventh loss for Disguised since yay joined the team. yay’s success with the team during their time in the Challengers League led to a disappointing 0.94 VLR rating.
Looking ahead, it looks like it will be hard for Disguised’s team to get into the NA Challengers League in 2024. There will only be one open qualifier, and hundreds of teams could show up to compete for the two spots in the league. Last year, six spots were up for grabs across two qualifiers. This year’s qualifier is harder than last year’s.
ive never been so depressed i think in my entire life
the mistakes that are happening on this team are things in which im 99% sure ranked players could do better, and its actually pathetic that we are "salaried professionals"
im donating my last paycheck to charity since I…
— yay (@yay) June 5, 2023
In other Valorant news, after the team’s relegation, Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker said he would give away his last paycheck from Disguised Toast’s pro DSG Valorant team because he doesn’t feel like he deserves it. When yay joined DSG, it brought together the best Valorant player of 2022 with one of the most exciting NA Challengers teams, both of which were backed by Disguised Toast. However, the team’s struggles in the second split resulted in a winless record, forcing them to fight for their spot in the relegation game, which they finally lost.
I had mine after the Masters Berlin Qualifier. My boys at the time know what I mean. It took me over 4 months to learn from that too.
Just want to get some positivity out there because I’m seeing a lot of defeated players mentally. Take a step out and find some positives❤️ https://t.co/ERGnJjDaxg
— FNATIC Boaster (@OfficialBoaster) June 5, 2023
The community and other players rallied around yay after he wrote a heartfelt post on Twitter about his sadness and disappointment. Boaster, the IGL for Fnatic, talked about a time when he was at a “low point” and emphasised that such times can be good learning chances.
It’s still not clear what will happen to DSG and yay, since it’s not clear if they will keep getting signed during the off-season. If they do, the squad will have to fight their way through the open qualifiers to show themselves once more.
