DarkZero are set to sign Neil “neilzinho” Finlay as the coach of their Valorant team, Upcomer.com reported Friday.
neilzinho, a 30-year-old from the United Kingdom, previously was a Valorant coach for Rix.GG and G2 Esports. On Thursday, G2 tweeted that they had parted ways with him.
From 2010-17, neilzinho was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, competing for multiple teams. He subsequently served as a CS:GO coach for Wind and Rain, Stifmeister and Fierce Esports.
DarkZero also reportedly had been pursuing Valorant player Bryce “PureR” Lovell as a potential addition to their roster, but that interest has passed, according to Upcomer.com.
PureR plays for XSET, who won the Nerd Street Gamers Winter Championship: Open 7 late last month, an event in which DarkZero tied for ninth place.
Las Vegas-based DarkZero produced mediocre results in 2021. In the two most prestigious events they entered, they tied for 17th in the Nerd Street Gamers: Summer Championship in August and tied for ninth in the Community Gaming Valorant Elite Showdown in November.
In C-level events, they finished second once and third twice among 11 appearances.
–Field Level Media