Why FNS and S0m Could Never Save NRG

NRG's season is officially over after throwing their 12-5 lead against C9, but there's still one question on everyone's minds. Was subbing in FNS and s0m actually worth it? In this video, we’re going to explore the rationale behind the roster change, what problems it attempted to solve, and what new problems NRG still had to face with FNS and s0m.
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[@nervz]

This guy NEEDS to start streaming vct.

[@platoonval]

Maybe someday!

[@triston6149]

@@platoonval champs is in a week I would stream it if I were u

[@wasabigamer9235]

U need permission to watch party I believe

[@Redamyx11]

@@wasabigamer9235no

[@triston6149]

@@wasabigamer9235 nah i dont think so

[@xxpaulwangxx]

NRG should hire you as an analyst at this point

[@another7674]

Why should they when he’s doing it f for free so already

[@deardoue69]

@@another7674 you just stated indirectly that they're paying their analyst for fucking nothing when platoon does it better for FREE lmao

[@AdityaKumar-tq6ii]

​@@deardoue69 I mean is he wrong tho?

[@deardoue69]

@@AdityaKumar-tq6ii no im just glazing his statement

[@jonathansharma6488]

Nice one dude i had a good laugh 🤣

[@jonathanmetzler147]

I just don't think FNS and Som were given enough time to make the new roster work, and if they had more time NRG could have made champs

[@mayankraj1424]

Only Ethan was the changed when they came back .. what time do they need with the roster ? It's almost same roster

[@Terywj]

They had enough time to win one round before Cloud9 got nine in a row and couldn't.

[@Kewa_]

@@mayankraj1424meta changed when they last played, teams got better, no star player atm

[@KingTea2006]

​@mayankraj1424 Wel the meta changes constantly and so do the maps. IGLs need to think of some insane plays to be ahead of other teams. FNS and Som haven't been in Pro play for a year now, and a lot has changed, so they rlly need to prepare a lot.

[@sleepyalvaro]

@@Kewa_brother they knew the meta, they watched every event that they didn’t play

[@iWuzReaper]

Babe wake up, Platoon just dropped.

[@Fade761]

Wait, valorant players have girlfriends??

[@skulmask9647]

@@Fade761 e-daters 😔

[@Griseofulvin779]

​@@skulmask9647 lmao

[@kenchen704]

If Platoon got hired as NRG analyst when he made the video for Chet, they’d won

[@akrau8250]

10:12 i kind of hope adding demon1 back on the roster can help fix this problem similar to how yay does. There were plenty of rounds on EG where he was inserted as a lurk and the team would execute around his positioning.

[@HaydenDom]

no victor to make space for demon1 tho, if they bring back demon1 they have to drop either crashies or ethan and pick up a duelist player

[@hushpuppy1735]

I think they should drop crashies

[@theawesomename1701]

Don't know how crashies is still on the team

[@walangaccount8984]

EG would put Demon1 somewhere around the map and he kills like 2 and when he lives long enough he can clutch for the team. NRG Demon1 is just putting him on raze and die on entry.

[@cl_0ud470]

@@theawesomename1701 this is what baffles me. Who is going to play the raze/neon or aggro duelist for them now? At least with FNS, som, Victor, Ethan, and Demon1 the roles wouldn't be much of a problem since Demon1 would be the solo lurker/insert player making his own plays separated from the main group

[@Lcsop]

I know Furia doesn't have enough fans in NA but I really wanted to actually know what they did to be a good team in stage 2

[@Lilacsarepurple]

This makes so much more sense I never realized how different it is for an IGL to be a lurker or an initiator makes me appreciate zellsis more, I also realized that sentinels worst maps are when tenz is on initiator so could that also be for the same reason? This video has blown my mind 🤯

[@cnaizhen]

Tenz being on initiators is an entirely different story. You still get zellsis or johnqt doing callouts on either side of the map, regardless of what role tenz is playing.

[@Lilacsarepurple]

@cnaizhen but its still crazy to me that their icebox and breeze are legit their worst maps where tenz is on initiator and both zellsis and johnqt are on viper/sentinel even on bind I dont understand why they don't put tenz on brimstone and switch zellsis into gecko instead, zellsis is better at assisting zekken than tenz he's just not a good initiator in my opinion

[@cnaizhen]

@@Lilacsarepurple IMO, and I suspect people will flame me for this, tenz is never good at initiators. During the past iterations of sentinels before johnqt joined, tenz were playing a mix of initiators and duelists and he didn't perform at all. Despite sentinel success right now (compared to last year), it feels that he is good only at omen and nothing else.

[@Lilacsarepurple]

@cnaizhen I agree, this year they put him on initiator and omen, and I think they would benefit from putting him on all smokes agents where he can still be self-sufficient instead of needing to focus on zekken as an initiator

[@cnaizhen]

@@Lilacsarepurple The only other smoke agent I see tenz playing is clove. Doubt that his play style fits brim/astra/viper - he seems to prefer agents with the toolkit to be a playmaker.

[@ricyha]

Might just be me, but you're my favorite analyst. Other channels overdo it with the editing, weirdly crop their real life face into the video, or have poor enunciation. You keep things straightforward with graphs, unique statistics, and clear pronunciation. I really appreciate your work, Platoon.

[@CrimseyCream]

Most of those channels do it for entartainment and surface level analysis for even people who dont really understand the game much enjoy pro play.

[@eeeeee9298]

platoon pls make a fpx video regardless of their champs performance 🙏🙏🙏 i want to learn about their goofy comps from you

[@platoonval]

Will definitely think about it!

[@brahbrah]

added so late in the season they probably knew this season was pretty much a wash and they're looking to build chemistry for next tbh

[@trying_on_neonTT]

get demon1 back in again with potter thats the only coach that can cook demon1 and maybe whole nrg again, we win the game for free

[@marksaren1880]

Platoon is the best Valorant analysis channel in KZbin! 🙌🏻 We always look forward to your videos!

[@UMCsnow-mn8ku]

7:58 But aren’t Ethan and Crashies also mid-rounders like Zellsis?

[@platoonval]

They 100% help out, but I don't think that they are as big of a voice as Zellsis who seems to actually want to completely take over calling at times. Ethan/crashies are amazing support players who provide key information and know immediately how to help out every play, but might not have the same aggressive personality needed to take initiative for the team. In the end this is still speculation based on their gameplay patterns since I don't see them practice every day so definitely could be wrong!

[@avijitdas2311]

I have always wondered why the previous iteration of NRG with Ardiis did not work. The detailed analysis in the video is just mind-blowing 🤯

[@Sugarist0]

Chet putting Victor on brim and demon1 on raze earlier in the season should be considered a crime

[@mangadlaoadrianegabrielv.8909]

00:08 victor threw that headphone so hard hahaha

[@50thdollar61]

Finally seeing someone not trash on FNS for no reason

[@hypnotic_o]

always love seeing your thoughts, keep it up platoon.

[@jzkkR6s]

how does crashies still get chances, get him OUT

[@ItsAGF]

We have all seen what he can do. It's all form, relax

[@frankb.8071]

this “form” has been going on for 7 months

[@illogical_m3892]

I said the whole time last time (but never thought it would happen cause of crashies and Victor's friendship) but I wanted Victor out since the start. Demon taking his place + Fns IGLing is gonna be great.

[@Ryoth2]

There are some issues with roles tho, no? Who's gonna play the other duelists besides jett. You also lose a flex player

[@itznidal9501]

@@Ryoth2won’t Demon1 be able to pick up that role?

[@ingtelcuy5462]

@@itznidal9501 demon1 is not a movement type player, on sqn 2.0 most often he used to play sentinel other than jett. i think raze is not too suited for him, but if the new coaching staff could somehow make it work than im all in for it edit: looking back, he actualy played neon too on sqn 2.0 (idk how he might fare against better team, but if you see VCT EMEA, you see low sens duelist like quitionerX, sayf, and alfajer playing agent like neon and raze so it's possible to teach demon1 the proper movement tech)

[@iliketomoveit208]

​@@Vermitonvictors already out

[@vypervfx7519]

@@itznidal9501 a guy who plays on 0.1 1600 low asf sens cant play raze or neon , u need insane movement and good flicks to play such agents

[@ronlyon4645]

i think crashies and/or ethan need to step up the mid round calling game aka more game and scenario understanding. so the big work dont really put on too much on fns.

[@bandj9428]

what if we had demon1 fns victor crashies som. would it play out similar to the old optic core since demon1 has a similar play style to yay or play out similar to eg from last year

[@joshuaaugustine4017]

Demon1 also gives you an advantage with his agent pool he can play smokes, which yay can’t.

[@joechisman5909]

The meta has changed, so who knows. But it could be great for sure

[@bryanmulcare9083]

Dropping Demon1 and Marved so later in the roster was a bad chose because, how on earth can your team cooperate with the team. Plus seeing FNS as an IGL and game play is still underrated after taking a year break. And having s0m back as a flex player is very good yet hard because he was picked up late. I honestly wish that NRG can make a comeback after this year is over. Don't get me wrong but Oxy is built different in Cloud9.

[@anishkamble4268]

rossy would be a very good option as he can be the secondary caller and can play initiator for you he has shown how good he is on T1 so maybe NRG go for him even though it seems less likely

[@dva5610]

FNS just isn’t good enough he even struggles way too much in ranked.

[@siniganggang96]

that explanation of how sentinels plays defense side is such a hugenugget of wisdom for me andwould help so much if future games

[@ahmedmohsen1109]

Dude i loved your take on what happened in some of the matches. I watched most of these live but didn't notice most of what you pointed out. Great work and great video!

[@orangepeel7530]

Need to get this guy to 100k, cause he is criminally underrated

[@AddisonFlay]

Why don't they hire Platoon? Not even joking

[@payloinfinite3435]

Demon1 need to get hsi mind right. Too many things going on in his life now. Oddly enough hes actually a nicer guy. If his personal issue get better, his mind will begin its rest and nee focus will be on next year With who? Beats me. I hope its NRG... Not with potter (the dynamic of two big brains wont work imo)

[@CybermageVal]

I hope fns reacts to this on stream.. would love to hear his thoughts - great vid!

[@healiaquastar]

I don’t play val anymore, but I’ve been loosely keeping up with vct champs approaching. Your analyses are in ways very humanizing for the players which I appreciate :) it never occurred to me how many different factors go into roster changes/decisions

[@goredyn8150]

TLDR: They need Yay back/Demon1 back and need to have Ethan or a second shotcaller calling on defence. Possibly sub Marved for Ethan? And Demon1 for Crashies.

[@bensrhirsalah5650]

For me, all the problems will be solved with bringing back D1 to the roster and N4RRATE from KC instead of crashies and you'll see a Champions winning team.

[@payloinfinite3435]

I had a long drawn-out reason why it didn't work out but I decided to just watch the video and not bother with my opinions. Cuz what the hell is an immortal 3 player going to say that's going to enter into anybody's head? Nothing really, so I'll watch instead

[@pigitertin6830]

maybe if they play like the old EG roster they'll be good? (let's assume Demon1 is back with the roster) demon 1 smoke fns sentinel ethan - stun initiator crashies - info initiator s0m - duelist

[@NJzinho]

i think this next iteration of the roster would really benefit from having Potter's coaching style, reintegrating demon1 into the roster, refreshing s0m's raze at the pro level, and reconstructing the old EG playstyle where there was no clear entry player and the whole team would contribute to first bloods and fast trades while having FNS on lurk with Ethan helping on midround calling

[@SigmaGamer69420]

2021 Brooklyn Nets

[@khrisjanlopevillaspin5223]

Send this to their org so they know what's up. (If they don't know what's up)

[@an2kinn]

platoon my favorite youtuber, keep the good content coming!!

[@babusseus1105]

The quality of your videos is just somethig else, keep it up Platoon!

[@chrlzcs]

they signed FNS and s0m for next season anyway it doesnt matter they lost that last game

[@nikhileshwar9673]

Breach has been such a crucial meta agent rn. FNS is much better breach than Ethan but if they try to incorporate that part then they run into sentinel issues. Also they played like clove and sage for fk sake with demon1 on bench .Yes I'm ngl like most ppl out there it felt like demon1 is having bit of an identity crisis on their roster bcuz of role changes but if they were gonna lean into clove & sage he would've been very effective Like previously they tried put an aggressive player like Ardiis on passive role/agents. Then they put a passive player like demon1 on aggressive role.

[@peaceNqueues]

You are the best analyst in the space!!! It’s never just surface level and you always dig deeper.

[@randomosugamer]

so in stage 1, attack sucked defence was good, stage 2 attack was insane, defense sucked....

[@cord6130]

NRG's gonna be emailing you offering you a position at this rate bro, cause you might be their only hope lol.

[@ImHitch]

So do they just let me demon1 fill victors role now? Or what

[@cosmicmw3378]

All good

[@divyanshu_chaurasiya]

NRG fans still coping 😂 when they couldn't qualify for a single lan this year , lol superteam my ass

[@collieyessir]

I hope demon1 will get out of nrg, this team will rot.

[@ameersyazly]

this is MAD ANALYSIS. huge prop to you

[@nietrecordings4389]

I love watching your videos. Please keep up the high quality work.

[@rando05]

Nrg have also failed to build a successful roster in other esports such as rocket league, they've gone through 5 players (in a 3v3 gamemode) in a single season and are continuing to rebuild in the off season without much success. Is this just the nrg effect?

[@platoonval]

It's the big name team curse. They feel pressure to deliver results fast.

[@ArabellaWilbur-c2f]

Rodriguez Ruth Jones Jeffrey Miller Elizabeth

[@akashbhandaru]

Bro keeps on cooking and cooking consistently in every video, respect.

[@TMV_Oil_Up_As_You_Promised]

Yes

[@engo11]

Yes, I agree.

[@dcaftv]

basically what ive re-learned is FNS is the goat

[@MyFace-ie3tj]

I think som was fine but fns needed more time. Som is fucken goated and has + aura wish he was on a better team

[@crypmama8339]

most underrated guy on all of yt

[@xZevi_theog]

are you a data analyst

[@SoniyaKhan-g2y]

Jackson Joseph Johnson Robert Perez Nancy

[@floydemeaudley5415]

Johnson Donald Jackson Angela Wilson Eric

[@routerguy1288]

Great vid just change that thumbnails

[@deijiexpress]

holy shit another great video cooked, ty platoon guy

[@d1vineFPS]

Why don’t they just listen to you I don’t understand

[@BrianCue-s3q]

Hernandez Sarah White Shirley Hall John

[@namson2005]

Fns in the thumbnail looks like something out of a horror game

[@rehreh92]

it’s giving five nights at fenis’

[@swarnimdiwan6903]

Som on raze demon1 on smokes and nrg looking on top

[@lucastesting9612]

I feel like a video on G2 and valyn's calling would be cool.

[@platoonval]

There should be some great games to go over from Champs! I'll definitely take a look :)

[@YJS222]

Broo please make a vid about liquid

[@aikoomc]

so sigma

[@ZechsGaming]

Does this mean fns is still the goat?

[@asyncioa]

how do you get this footage? do you just download the vods or is there a different way

[@platoonval]

Yep mainly the vods

[@re_thinkable8653]

-crashies, put in marved to make up for mid rounding, put in demon1 to have firepower, get potter, and you have a team that wins everything

[@Ryoth2]

no initiators and too many smokes

[@danboibot]

Nah now they removed victor, you add demon1. You could remove crashies to install jawgemo and potter for coach. That way you get Ethan perma initiator, demon1 on brim for bind with som changing to duelist with jawg. In other maps you get jawg entry with demon1 on agents like Jett, with som on smokes and fns on sentinels, in the case you need double smoke you get som on omen with fns on viper, or if you need double smokes with sentinel you get som and demon1 playing smokes with fns playing sentinel

[@re_thinkable8653]

@@Ryoth2 I think som could play anything

[@thealiagator111]

Part of the reason why they didn't try to integrate Demon1 and just benched him is that he was also having issues out of the server (IIRC his fiancée was dealing with some serious health problems). Dropping Victor and Chet is a clear sign that they want D1 to be their main duelist moving forward and that they'll try to get Potter to bring their strats up to par.

[@gardenofwords914]

I hope they dont demolish the roster, they couldve imo kept the roster just give them more time to adjust. If they are on for next year I hope they do well :)

[@genx3158]

NRG rn with FNS is all brawn and they lack the manpower to back that intelligence up. They need someone who can provide that power

[@thetominatorap9769]

actually phenomenal video, complete breakdown including stats and deep diving into the history of the players really gives that in depth look at NRG we all needed

[@jai_nasu]

sending this to FNS now

[@tristannottrysten]

I miss u platoon

[@groundh0gday200]

Wtf is that 3d render 😭

[@klipklapklop3359]

NRG losing so they can spend more time eating their in house NRG private chef food

[@Navch0]

NA players are so mediocre they never look to improve that’s why they get surpassed by G2 and lev that has a lot to prove

[@guwopzy]

SunnyV2 of Val

[@retrofying4761]

Wonder what a team would look like if they had NRG attack sides and Bleed defense sides

[@sabaro24]

ayy, nice video

[@kurthson8797]

they are not making enough space for demon1 to even excell

[@lNeVaR]

Of course this was the dumbest decision in esports history

[@jeffisded1222]

:D

[@RookeSpecs]

I knew this NRG roster would fail. They had no star power. Every championship team we've had always had 1.) Great leadership, 2.) Clutch master, 3.) Very talented fragger, 4.) Solid support players that fill up the gaps. NRG missed 2 (possibly 3) of these. Not enough firepower and no cold-blodded mf that can bring the vibes back and clutch when things go south.

[@pizzapandas8893]

Really like your videos, and you are the only analyst videos I watch. Keep it up

[@zihuatenejo]

FNS and some of the optic core players weren't relevant since the chamber meta with Yay.

[@meow2841]

?

[@S.o.13]

Ngl the 12:5 throw was crazy watching live and seeing the chat go nuts about fns non stop. But also he just performed rly bad, at some point he was just collecting headshots back to back, pushing in third at spaces where 2 already solo pushed and died. But also we are not pros here fam so keep it cool with comments like he is washed etc yeah he pelayed bad that game ngl but in case of his igl, u dont know what he called and how team responded to his call. So no need to talk about this part.

[@kath0015]

Yay needs come back

[@Tomato-h4e]

Nah i think d1 and fns should be together or they can remove ethan because d1 can play almost any role

[@SirCarmelli]

D1 cant play any role beside smokes and jett

[@gablam-7947]

Ward

[@keanekidwell5400]

why arent u you coach

[@oweyy_]

N4RRATE, FNS, Demon1, S0m, and Ethan would go insane. Incorporating Demon1 back is pretty important and I think a clear upgrade at this point in time without further devastating half the roster would be to either keep crasheis or replace him for someone like N44RATE. The earlier the better though as you've said in the video; I would hate if NRG slumps in the first half of VCT 2025 just to make changes when the only thing they'd have to play for then is Champs 2025.

[@cale8696]

who plays a good sova on this team? i don't think i've ever watched n4rrate player sova but I also dont watch EMEA at all

[@Ryoth2]

@@cale8696N4rrate can make it work I think

[@SUPADOG111]

id argue they choose Verno over N4RRATE if they want a new initiator player

[@Ryoth2]

@@SUPADOG111 me too

[@vypervfx7519]

@@cale8696 if they form a roster early , they can learn in like 5-6 months tbh

[@amenbrother777]

And they said FNS >> Boaster . Lmao. Woaster Won undisputed.