Karmine Corp get their first recruit of the VALORANT offseason. According to Sheep Esports sources, Hazem “avez” Khaled reached a verbal agreement with the Blue Wall for the upcoming VCT EMEA season. The NASR Esports player will fill one of the two places left vacant by Tomás “tomaszy” Machado and Ryad “Shin” Ensaad, as previously reported by Sheep Esports.

Avez is coming off a good but frustrating season in the VCL MENA. The Egyptian - compatriot of his future Assistant Coach Ahmed “ZE1SH” EL-Sheikh - played in the top spots with NASR but failed to win a single title this season. The flex-player reached the grand final of Split 1, then the Lower Bracket Final of Split 2 and the Regional Playoffs. But the Emirati club was eliminated three times by the same team, R8 Esports. As a result, avez remains on one top 2 and two top 3 this season. Other teams like Fnatic or GentleMates played some tryouts with him, but Karmine Corp recently reached an agreement with him.

Excellent individual statistics

On an individual level, avez, however, had an excellent year. He began it with the fifth-best Rating 2.0 in Split 1 (1.18). He ended it with the third-best Rating 2.0 in the Regional Playoffs (1.17). He already won his local championship at Stage 1 in 2023, already with NASR Esports. He also reached rank 1 in the EU ranking in August 2023. When he announced that he had been allowed to explore his options at the end of July, many were predicting a near future in VCT.

And they were right. At Karmine Corp, avez will be discovering the VCT circuit for the first time. He will have to help revive a team that has lost its way. After surprisingly winning the EMEA Kick-Off at the start of the year, the Blue Wall had a harder time of it in Stage 1 and 2, failing twice to win a single playoff match. Admittedly, KC did better than in 2023, when the club had a catastrophic season. But the Prestigious is dreaming bigger, with a new project now beginning to take shape.

Header Photo Credit: NASR Esports / Sheep Esports