Although they won Valorant Champions 2025, it seems NRG may be on the lookout for a new player as Sam “s0m” Oh has teased that he will retire following their win in Paris.

There have also been rumors that NRG have been targeting a Controller or Flex player, either directly replacing s0m or allowing another player to step into the Controller role and putting more of the spotlight on a new, star signing.

NRG Target New Controller

s0m has been a mainstay of the NRG roster ever since he switched to Valorant from CS:GO. Having joined the team in 2020, he finally lifted his first VCT trophy with the organization at Champions earlier this month.

NRG won Champions by taking down fnatic 3-2 in the Grand Final. S0m was the only player on the North America team to go negative in the victory, but was still praised for his ability to maintain the team’s energy as they looked to avoid a reverse sweep.

The win at Champions means that s0m has now climbed to the highest peak within Valorant, and although he hasn’t won a VCT Masters event, he now holds a medal for the biggest title in the game.

s0m previously discussed retirement in an interview earlier this year and has now once again teased calling time on his professional career on his stream, laying credence to a rumour from reputable leaker “Akamaru” that states NRG are currently targeting a new Controller player for the 2026 VCT season.

Sources: NRG are looking for a controller/flex player ahead of the 2026 VCT Season. They are interested in Zekken. pic.twitter.com/0ytZstZUfr

— thomas (@AkamaruVal) October 15, 2025

According to that rumour, the player the organization is targeting is Zachary “zekken” Patrone, who currently plays for Sentinels. zekken’s contract is set to expire soon, which would allow him to explore his options and provide a potential cheap replacement for NRG if s0m is to retire.

zekken is known for being one of the strongest players in the North American region, and previously won VCT Masters Madrid with Sentinels in 2024. A versatile player, he will be suited to the Controller role or a more flexible one as VALORANT’s meta surely shifts in response to recent updates that were pushed to the game.