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From having a rough start in the Valorant Champions Tour Stage 2: Masters Reykjavik 2021 to Paper Rex almost winning it all in the Copenhagen Masters in 2022, the Asia Pacific (APAC) region has witnessed a massive improvement in the Valorant pro scene.
There has been a major rise in the number of skilled players from the region, with some of them now recognized as top-tier competitors in the Valorant esports scene. However, due to rostermania, not every player might get a chance to play on the stage anytime soon. APAC is the only region to have all rosters announced so far.
Here is a list of five APAC players who did not make it to franchising.
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5 APAC Valorant pros who will not play for a franchised organization in VCT 2023 season
1) sScary
Nutchapon 'sScary' Matarat is an esports player from Thailand who currently plays for the team BLEED, and fulfilled the role of Controller for his team. His journey began with the X10 Esports where they dominated the APAC region but had a disappointing run in the first international VCT LAN in Reykjavik.
They were able to make it to the playoffs in VCT Champions 2021 by beating Envy (now OptiC Gaming) but unfortunately got knocked out in the playoffs. The core team later played under the org XERXIA Esports and was able to achieve somewhat similar results.
When the franchising was announced, sScary decided to leave his core team and join BLEED which did not make it to the franchising.
2) Lakia
Kim 'Lakia' Jong-min is a South Korean esports player who currently plays for the DAMWON Gaming team. Lakia has mostly fulfilled the role of Initiator but also played the Duelist Raze when needed.
Lakia made a lot of noise in the Valorant esports scene during his first international LAN in Reykjavik (2021), with his NUTURN team finishing third at the event. At one stage, Lakia was considered among the best Sova players in the world.
He was then picked by top Korean team Vision Strikers (now DRX) as their 6th man but only played a few matches. Eventually, he parted ways with them and made his way to DAMWON Gaming but didn't make it to the franchising.
3) ZmjjKK
Yongkang 'ZmjjKK' Zheng is a Chinese esports player who plays for the team EDward Gaming. ZmjjKK fulfilled the role of a Duelist for his team but also played the Sentinel 'Chamber'.
In China's first international debut, ZmjjKK and his team destroyed everyone in the Champions Tour East Asia: Last Chance Qualifiers without dropping a single map before qualifying for VCT Champions Istanbul.
Despite their disappointing run in Champions 2022 Istanbul, ZmjjKK put up insane numbers on the scoreboard and was able to impress the world with his insane Chamber plays. Unfortunately, though, Edward Gaming did not make it to the franchising.
4) Bunny
Chae 'Bunny' Joon-hyuk is a South Korean esports player who played for F4Q. Bunny played the role of a primary Duelist but has also featured as an Initiator Sova when needed. F4Q seemingly appeared out of nowhere to become one of the top Korean teams, just behind Vision Strikers.
They later qualified for VCT Stage 3: Masters Berlin but were eliminated in the group stage. Bunny, however, impressed many viewers with his double satchel Shotgun Raze play. F4Q later disbanded in 2021 leaving Bunny as a free agent.
5) Surf
Thanachart 'Surf' Rungapajaratkul is an esports player from Thailand who plays for XERXIA Esports, fulfilling the role of a primary Duelist and Sentinel Chamber when required.
Surf's journey began when XERXIA's player Patiphan decided to retire from Valorant and switch to Overwatch. Surf was brought in to take the latter's place and despite struggling initially, he was later able to find his footing.
Surf performed on the international stage and showed that he was a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, XERXIA Esports did not make it to franchising.
APAC's Valorant rostermania has been both wild and quiet. We have seen teams like Global Esports get an import, while others such as ZETA DIVISION, Paper Rex, and DRX decided to keep the core roster. It's going to be interesting to see what APAC's competition will look like after the changes.
