Fariha Bhatti 
The trailer for Valorant Episode 9 Act 1 is packed with action, but as always, Riot snuck in a clever teaser hinting at what’s to come, including Agent 26. While little has been revealed officially by Riot, precedent suggests that players have a pretty good idea of what their role and release date will be.
Valorant Episode 8 is wrapping up on a high note with Abyss entering the map pool, but it has left lore enthusiasts on the edge of their seats. Abyss has an Agent 8 easter egg in the form of a colossal hourglass, housing a mysterious figure pacing inside. It’s not a coincidence that Riot has chosen this time to tease the next agent in the Episode 9 trailer.
Valorant Episode 9 will likely add another agent to the lineup, but who will that be? Here’s all we know about this mysterious Valorant Agent 26.
Valorant Agent 26 will likely be an initiator
Agent 26 will very likely be an initiator.
All Valorant roles have received recent additions except for initiators, which hasn’t received a new member of the roster since Episode 6. After Gekko, Riot rolled out Deadlock, Iso, and Clove for each category in Valorant, which means initiator players should start dusting off their lineups.
The teaser, which showcases a Breach’s Fault line-like impact on the solid ground, further suggests that Agent 26 is a support character equipped with either a stun or an ability-neutralizing device like Kay/O. Their teased ability is also quite similar to Fade’s Seize, who’s also an initiator. So far, Agent 26 looks like a crowd controller who may be able to deal damage or shut down incoming attacks.
Another possibility is that Riot may just copy-paste League of Legends’ Zyra into Valorant. Since the tool causing the quake looked like roots, it’s likely that Zyra, who is equipped with deadly branches and spines that deal AOE damage, may be the inspiration for Agent 26’s toolkit.
The plant-themed mage has distinctive clawed fingers that can ensnare an enemy. A similarly clawed hand is teased in the Episode 9 trailer as well.
This won’t be the first time Riot would draw inspiration from LoL, which was seen with the similarly timed releases of League of Legends’ Zeri and Valorant’s Neon. Neon and Zeri share the same voice actress as well and have similar aesthetics and skills.
Leaks for the next Valorant agent
Data miners state that Valorant Agent 26’s codename is “Sherry.”
While it’s tough to make sense of the leaked codename, sherry is renowned as a wine produced from white grapes cultivated in Spain. Valorant currently features 25 characters, each hailing from different parts of the world. A Spanish agent has not been introduced yet. It’s not far-fetched to speculate that the codename “Sherry” might be hinting at the origins of Agent 26, possibly in Spain.
Valorant Agent 26 release date
Valorant Agent 26’s release date will likely fall in August or September. This is an estimation drawn from past release patterns of agents in Valorant, which have typically been introduced after a one-act interval:
- Gekko: Episode 6 Act 2
- Deadlock: Episode 7 Act 1
- Iso: Episode 7 Act 3
- Clove: Episode 8 Act 2
Based on this sequence, the next agent was supposed to be released in Episode 9, Act 1. However, since it’s already available, it’s likely that they will be launched in September 2024 when Act 2 begins.
