Two of the most well-regarded pro VALORANT casting duos will not be at Masters Shanghai. Both Brennon “Bren” Hook and Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson, as well as Lauren “Pansy” Scott and Michael “hypoc” Robins, will not be attending.
Hypoc continues to deal with serious health issues, saying he has “not been well” since collapsing while at VALORANT Champions 2023 and having to go to the emergency room. These issues have kept Hypoc out of action for much of the VCT EMEA season so far, prompting desk analyst and former pro Joshua “steel” Nissan to step in and cast with Pansy.
But with Hypoc still out and steel booked for another event, which would most likely be IEM Dallas given the similar dates and steel’s extensive Counter-Strike background, Pansy was unable to find “find a viable replacement” and will watch from home.
As for Bren and Sideshow, Bren posted yesterday that it was the duo’s personal decision not to go, but added they have “other big plans in the works” and won’t be taking a break during Masters. This was posted along with an image of the Plat Chat couch, leading many to believe the couch co-streams are making their long-awaited return.
During 2021, as Bren and Sideshow were still transitioning from Overwatch League to professional VALORANT, the duo along with other members of the Plat Chat podcast hosted numerous co-streams during international events, including Champions. Fans praised the streams for their casual feel, on-screen interviews, and skits between matches. These co-streams also gave birth to the Sideshow curse meme.
These co-streams became very popular amongst the community, helping usher in a meteoric rise for co-streams, as now co-streams like Tarik’s even outperform the official broadcast channels.
As the duo moved into full-time commentary work starting in 2022, the Plat Chat couch co-streams went on hiatus, but it seems that for perhaps just one time only, fans may be getting them back.
