After the official VCT competitive season concluded, four more significant Ascension tournaments took place across each of the competitive regions in the Valorant professional scene. These events revealed the names of teams that moved up from the tier-2 Challengers league to the top competitive division of VCT, securing partnerships with Riot for the upcoming year. The last event was held in the Pacific region, where the little-known team Sin Prisa Gaming emerged victorious. Today, we have prepared a piece that will tell you about this mysterious Korean team and their path to championship glory.
What is known about the team
The team competes under the same name as the organization, Sin Prisa Gaming, which is primarily known on the Korean Overwatch scene. In Blizzard’s team shooter, the organization earned approximately $94,000 and a few trophies in the tier-2 scene. However, at the end of 2023, the management decided to create a Valorant roster.
As a result, Sin Prisa Gaming signed the entire roster from another Korean organization, Shadow Corporation, which included five players and a coach. The debut roster looked as follows:
However, despite showing decent results under Shadow Corporation, the team couldn’t achieve much under their new banner. After a failure at the VALORANT Challengers 2024 Korea: Split 1 - Open Qualifier, where the team placed 5th-8th, the management decided to replace two players. As a result, Merry and Distinct left the team, and Jerry, margaret, and Persia joined in their place. This turned out to be the right decision, as the new roster performed exceptionally well and went on to win Ascension. The current championship-winning roster is as follows:
Sin Prisa's Path to the Championship
As mentioned earlier, replacing some players was the right call, as the team began a winning streak that ultimately secured them a spot in the VCT Pacific. Sin Prisa Gaming won the second stage of VALORANT Challengers 2024 Korea: Split 2, defeating well-known Korean teams like Dplus and IAM and claiming victory over Nongshim RedForce in the grand final. This victory earned the team $18,000 in prize money and a direct invitation to VCT Ascension Pacific 2024.
Victory at Ascension Pacific 2024
Interestingly, Sin Prisa Gaming faced fewer challenges in the Ascension tournament than during the qualifiers. Despite the presence of the strongest tier-2 teams from not only Korea but also other Pacific region countries, Sin Prisa Gaming faced no real opposition until the grand final. In the first four matches, the team didn’t lose a single map and unexpectedly became the favorite heading into the grand final.
The grand final showdown between Sin Prisa Gaming and BOOM Esports became one of the most thrilling matches in recent times, showcasing an incredibly intense battle between two evenly matched teams. Ultimately, Sin Prisa triumphed with a 3-2 score, and you can find a detailed breakdown of the match and its highlights in our article. Thanks to their victory, the team gained community recognition, $20,000 in prize money, and the main reward — a slot in VCT Pacific for 2025. Notably, with this win, the Pacific region now boasts four partnered teams from Korea, the most of any country.
It’s worth mentioning that after the event, two of Sin Prisa’s players were ranked among the top 10 best players by Bo3 statistics, with Lee "Dambi" Hyuk-kyu claiming the top spot. This directly indicates that the team was stronger than all their previous opponents, making their VCT Pacific spot a result of their dominance over other tier-2 teams in the Pacific region rather than a mere failure of BOOM Esports.
Reactions from Other VCT Representatives
After the team's win at Ascension Pacific 2024, the tournament organizers posted about it on their social media channels. Many viewers and fans congratulated Sin Prisa on their victory and thanked them for a fantastic match. In addition to regular viewers, other VCT league representatives also congratulated the Korean team. Organizations like Talon Esports and Team Secret welcomed the newcomers, with the latter even referring to them as "younger brothers." Professional players from other VCT regions also acknowledged Sin Prisa. Fnatic’s current captain, Boaster, commented that Persia from Sin Prisa had been a tough opponent during Fnatic's practice matches in Korea, and he looks forward to facing him and his team on stage next year.
When scrimming in Korea, SPG Persia was spanking us😂 Now he's in VCT I hope to play him on stage next year😎
— FNATIC Boaster (@OfficialBoaster) September 29, 2024
An Interesting Parallel
One interesting aspect following Ascension Pacific 2024 is the resemblance of Sin Prisa's journey to that of Brazilian giants and 2022 world champions, LOUD. In 2022, LOUD also “came out of nowhere,” starting their dominance on the Brazilian scene, ultimately becoming world champions. Notably, both LOUD and Sin Prisa didn’t lose a single match during the playoff stages, with their only map loss occurring in the grand final — LOUD against OpTic Gaming. While the two teams can be compared, it’s important to note that the situations differ slightly. LOUD became world champions, defeating opponents of the highest caliber, while Sin Prisa triumphed over tier-2 teams, leaving uncertainty about how they will fare against VCT league representatives.
Regardless of whether Sin Prisa becomes one of the dominant teams in the Pacific region or delivers more modest results, they have already made a name for themselves, and their grand final match at Ascension 2024 will forever be part of the tier-2 Valorant scene’s history.
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