The Valorant off-season is coming to an end and participants from various regions have already confirmed their rosters ahead of VCT 2025. We have compiled for you in one place the results of one of the strongest Valorant Pacific regions, which was the first to confirm its rosters and has already begun preparations. In this piece, we'll share all the details and permutations, as well as give you the opinion of an expert our editorial team contacted.
Key permutations of the season
DetonatioN FocusMe
The Japanese team has performed consistently poorly during the 2024 VCT. Having failed to achieve any changes, the club management went for drastic measures and almost completely rebuilt the roster, leaving only Meiy among the players. The bet was made on the younger generation, who have not yet achieved significant success in their careers, but believe high hopes for the future.
Whether they will be able to make progress for the team, one can only guess. However, during the off-season, the new team had one of their best performances, taking 2nd place at the first Chinese OFF/SEASON tournament VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational. Which hints at a good prospect for the future of DetonatioN FocusMe.
DRX
DRX has boasted few accomplishments in recent years. Gone is the era in 2022 when the club conquered all regional tournaments and performed well in international competitions. 2024 was far from the worst year for the team, 2nd place in the regional tournament and 5th place at the World Championships, not bad results.
Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan, who currently holds the role of IGL, has allowed the team to gather a roster of young talents who have not competed on the international stage before. They will have plenty of time to prepare under the guidance of an experienced captain and show what they can do. By the way, DRX rookies showed good results at the recent VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational in China.
Gen.G Esports
As for Gen.G Esports, the team is clearly going to sag in terms of performance in 2025. With the departure of talents like Lakia and Meteor, the club is clearly going to struggle. While the return of Munchkin is somewhat encouraging, it's unlikely that two rookies will be able to cover such a loss. And their performance at the VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational was proof of that.
In a few days another OFF/SEASON tournament in Seoul, the SOOP VALORANT LEAGUE, will start. There we will be able to see what the renewed Gen.G Esports is capable of and whether they will be able to show the same results when competing against teams from other regions.
Global Esports
After another failure during the VCT, the team management decided to completely change the roster, hoping to improve their results in the next 2025. However, from what the Indian team has managed to put together, it doesn't look like we should expect much from them. The team's most experienced player is the Filipino Kelly “kellyS” Sedillo, formerly of Rex Regum Qeon.
Will he be able to handle the IGl role and lead his team to a better performance? Very doubtful, but maybe the young talent can surprise us, as we will find out at UNSTOPPABLE 2024, which starts later this year.
Paper Rex
Paper Rex is one of the few teams that have not changed their roster in any way and are working on the mistakes made during the last season. Overall, the team performed well at regional tournaments, taking 1st and 3rd place at VCT 2024: Pacific Stage 1 and 2, but on the international stage, they had big problems.
Although Masters Madrid ended with a 3rd place finish for the team, further performances at Masters Shanghai and Champions 2024 were a complete failure. But even with these results, the squad has been retained and will continue to develop new strategies to improve their results in the coming year.
Rex Regum Qeon
The Indonesian club decided to keep their old squad and made only one substitution. Hagai “Lmemore” Tewuh has gone to the bench and will be replaced by Bryan “Kush” Setiawan, who does not have as much experience on the Tir-1 stage. This substitution will play no role and will have no impact on the team's future results.
All the regional tournaments in 2024 were unsuccessful for Rex Regum Qeon and hence the team did not qualify for any international tournaments. Judging by the minor lineup shuffles, don't hold out much hope for them in the future.
T1
Next season, we are in for an incredible breakthrough from this club. Many fans and analysts have high hopes for T1, after signing big stars like Ko “Sylvan” Young-sub and two stars Kim “Meteor” Tae-o.
The start of the year did not go well for the team, but after the roster change, as expected the club's results went up. Winning the biggest international OFF/SEASON tournament, Red Bull Home Ground #5, was just the beginning. During the VCT 2025, T1 will surprise its viewers more than once, because this team has become the undisputed favorite of its region.
TALON Esports
Another team that didn't make a decider and decided to keep their roster for VCT 2025. TALON is a young club that has yet to find their stars, and their results have been lackluster to say the least. The team barely made it to the VALORANT Champions 2024 and even that credit should be attributed to other less fortunate clubs.
So far, don't expect anything more from this team, maybe they can improve their performance, but it's hard to believe. So far it looks like one of the weakest squads in the region, which is how they will graze the backsides.
Team Secret
Another unremarkable club, for the last year does not want to change key players and tries to build the game around Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco leading the team. This time, the management decided to replace two players in the roster, adding James “2GE” Goopio and Brheyanne “Wild0reoo” Reyes to the main roster, who do not have much experience in the Tir1 scene. Next year looks like another attempt for Team Secret to take a shot, but it's very unlikely to happen.
- Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco
- Jeremy “Jeremy” Cabrera.
- Adrian “invy” Reyes
- James “2GE” Goopio
- Brheyanne “Wild0reoo” Reyes
ZETA DIVISION
After one of the worst results of the season, the team management decided to reconsider their views and poached several talents from FENNEL, including Ukrainian coach Ivan “Johnta” Shevtsov. After strengthening the roster, the team was just one step away from reaching Red Bull Home Ground #5, losing in the finals to T1, which is already a very good result, at least on the regional scene.
Hikaru “CLZ” Mizutani and Ivan “Johnta” Shevtsov will be bringing a lot to the table and sharing their experience in an effort to take ZETA DIVISION to the next level. The team's next appearance will be at the Riot Games ONE PRO INVITATIONAL 2024 showmatch, where we will be able to see what the reshuffling of the playing and coaching staff has brought about.
Nongshim RedForce
Nongshim RedForce were lucky enough to sign the former Sin Prisa Gaming squad and get a slot in the Riot affiliate. Regarding the squad, they look like a very promising team in the future. In such a short period of their career, they managed to win the VCT Ascension Pacific 2024 and get an affiliate and an opportunity to play in the season. It is too early to tell how they will show themselves on the international stage, but within the Pacific region they have every chance to succeed.
Another team that qualified for the VCT Ascension Pacific 2024, which earned them a partner slot in the VCT. The only change that has happened is the addition of Kazakh player Dastan “dos9” Zhumagali, who will strengthen the roster a bit. But, the team does not look like a squad that can somehow prove itself at regional tournaments. Next year, the team is unlikely to show itself in any way, which will lead to more roster shuffles in the next OFF/SEASON.
An exclusive expert's opinion on Pacific region resolves
Our editorial team turned to B8 Esports captain Vladislav “arch” Svistov for his opinion on the happenings on the Pacific scene. Here's what he had to say:
Despite not having the best results in the 2024 season, DRX made controversial solifles, replacing players with rookies who had no international tournament experience. Do you think they can produce better results in the new year?
- I believe the new DRX roster will make the playoffs in the region, but I don't see them among the top 3 in the region yet. These were very risky substitutions, even though the players are very promising and could contend for top Pacific region in a while.
The season didn't go too well for T1, but after strengthening the roster with talents like Sylvan, Meteor and BuZz, the team had their best offseason performance ever. Do you consider them favorites for the 2025 season?
- Yes, of course I think T1 are the favorites for the region after strengthening. To me their team looks like past DRX. Cor in the form of stax + BuZzz, and a very strong Meteor who gained a lot of experience with GenG this year.
Global Esports has completely revamped the roster, but we haven't seen them in action yet. Do you think the new roster will be able to show better results, or should we not expect anything significant from this team next season?
- Unfortunately I can't say anything about Global Esports, I don't see them as a top contender.
In such a short period of time DetonatioN FocusMe managed to improve their game so significantly that they defeated the current world champions on Valorant Radiant. How do you assess the prospects for their roster in the 2025 season?
- The Pacific region will be much stronger in 2025, so in my opinion it will be tough for them despite their good result at Valorant Radiant Asia. At a minimum I can name 6 teams that will likely be stronger than them.
What do you think about the results of the solifles this offseason? Which teams have strengthened their rosters and which teams have lost stability?
- Pacific looks to be a strong region overall. The mechanical skills in this region are very impressive, so players we haven't heard of could really surprise us.
What changes in team lineups do you think could have the biggest impact for next season?
- DRX are a bit weaker, T1 are much stronger, GenG and PRX +- will be on the same level, ZETA are very strengthened. I can't say anything about the other teams.
The first VCT 2025: Pacific Kickoff will start on January 18, 2025, where 12 partner teams will compete for two slots at VCT 2025: Masters Bangkok. Stay tuned with us for more developments on the Asian scene.
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