The Valorant community is actively discussing the situation surrounding Pujan "FNS" Mehta, one of the most experienced in-game leaders (IGL) in Valorant. Fans are questioning why esports organizations did not give FNS the opportunity to assemble a team on his own last season, despite his proven track record and leadership qualities.
In a recent Reddit thread, users expressed their confusion regarding this issue. The author of the post noted that the current NRG roster looks solid and attributed much of its strength to FNS return to the team and his significant influence on player selection. During the offseason, he allegedly expressed interest in adding players like Andrew "Verno" Maust to the roster, but this did not happen.
Community members offered various speculations on why organizations do not give the IGL the green light to select talent. Some suggested that while organizations were interested, logistical difficulties, such as existing player contracts or high buyout fees, made acquiring the talent FNS wanted challenging. Others believed that FNS's desire for complete control over roster decisions could conflict with the traditional hierarchy in many organizations, where general managers and head coaches hold significant influence.
I suspect that organizations were interested, but some players on his dream team were either signed or too expensive. I also think he wanted full control, which likely conflicts with the GM > head coach > IGL mentality that most organizations have for building a roster.
One commenter mentioned that FNS was willing to keep one or two existing players if it meant he could have the majority voice in forming the team. There were also mentions of organizations not wanting to part with their star players, financial constraints hindering the acquisition of high-profile talent, and some teams preferring to maintain their current rosters due to close personal relationships among players.
Despite these challenges, many fans believe organizations should have worked more closely with FNS, given his achievements, particularly with OpTic Gaming, where he led the team to international success. They argue that an IGL of his caliber, who is driven to win and has a clear vision, is invaluable.
Could they have? I understand why it’s difficult to give FNS all the keys, but considering his achievements and leadership qualities, I think organizations should have worked with him and given him a chance, especially since he was willing to make sacrifices for his ideal roster. NRG in 2023 was the second-best team in the Americas league, only behind LOUD, which they lost to in the lock-in single elimination format (they were better than DRX and NAVI, of course), qualified for both tournaments, made it to the top four in Tokyo, and then simply fell short at Champs.
Fans hope that in the future, talented leaders like FNS will be given greater opportunities to form their teams, potentially leading to greater success on the international stage.
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