
Cover-Credits:
Valorant esports will take on a new form in 2023 as Riot Games introduced the new franchised league system. The publisher revealed the 30 teams that made it into the three Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023 leagues as part of the new franchising. Some of the most prominent esports organizations and brands failed to make it into the VCT 2023 franchising despite being successful both in the industry and in Valorant esports. Riot was quick to state that the selection process for the VCT 2023 season was incredibly competitive and that it spanned months altogether which included a written application, in-depth interviews, and financial reviews.
Here are the teams and their rosters, confirmed or otherwise, that will participate in the three leagues of Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Pacific in VCT 2023. The off-season transfer window closes only in February 2023 and lineups can undergo changes until then.
(The player numbers mentioned in the tables do not represent the active roster/substitutes and is only for understanding the lineup. The players mentioned in the tables apart from the ones in the article have been sourced from the Global Contract Database)
VCT 2023: the Pacific
The following are the teams competing in the VCT 2023 Pacific League:
Zeta Division (Japan)
DetonatioN Gaming (Japan)
Gen. G (South Korea)
T1 (South Korea)
DRX (South Korea)
Team Secret (Philippines)
Paper Rex (Singapore)
Rex Regum Qeon (Indonesia)
Talon Esports (Thailand)
Global Esports (India)
Zeta Division
Japan’s most successful Valorant team Zeta Division announced that it shall compete in VCT 2023 with the same roster as in 2023. The confirmed roster is as follows:
Ryo “barce” Takebayashi
Tomoaki “crow” Maruoka
Yuma “Dep” Hashimoto
Koji “Laz” Ushida
Shota “SugarZ3ro” Watanabe
Tenta “TENNN” Asai
Zeta Division is basically unchanged, except for the addition of substitute player barce, who was with DetonatioN Gaming White in 2022.
DetonatioN Gaming
DetonatioN Gaming confirmed its roster for the 2023 Pacific league in October well ahead of the Kick Off tournament in São Paulo, Brazil. The roster is as follows:
Ryumon “Reita” Oshiro
Tomoki “xnfri” Moriya
Shogo “xnfri” Takemori
“Anthem”
Park “Seoldam” Sang-min
Seo “Suggest” Jae-youn
Gen.G
On 21st October, Gen.G revealed its all-Korean roster. After a not-so-successful run in the North American region in 2022, Gen.G will compete in the Pacific circuit as Riot Games accepted its application for the partnership program. The roster is:
Kim “Meteor” Tae-O
Lee “k1Ng” Seung-won
Kang “iNTRO” Seung-gyun
Yu “TS” Tae-seok
Yeom “eKo” Wang-ryong
Kim “Secret” Ha-jin
T1
The T1 Valorant roster is as follows:
Joseph “ban” Seungmin Oh
Kim “BeomJun” Beom-jun
Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom
Ha “Sayaplayer” Jung-woo
Son “xeta” Seon-ho
Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok
T1 has also moved away from the North American circuit to play in the Pacific. The organization is also reportedly signing Overwatch pro Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok.
DRX
DRX defied all odds in 2022 after it emerged as a top contender on the international stage. The roster for VCT 2023 is:
Kim “stax” Gu-taek
Kim “Zest” Gi-seok
Goo “Rb” Sang-min
Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan
Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul
Jung “Foxy9” Jae-sung
Team Secret
Team Secret made some significant changes during the off-season and signed new players for its 2023 roster.
Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza
Jessie “JessieVash” Cristy Cuyco
Jayvee “DubsteP” Paguirigan
Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera
Adrian “invy” Reyes
Lionel “lenne” Lim
Talon Esports
Talon Esports’ Valorant roster for 2023 features veterans and young blood and is also an all-Thai roster.
Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong
Itthirit “foxz” Ngamsaard
Jittana “JitboyS” Nokngam
Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut
Apiwat “GarnetS” Apiraksukumal
Panyawat “sushiboys” Subsiriroj
Paper Rex
Paper Rex’s only change going into VCT 2023 is that it has signed a sixth player to its strong team.
The team for 2023 is:
Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee
Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart
Benedict “Benkai” Tan
Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto
Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie
Patiphan “cgrs” Posri
Rex Regum Qeon
Team RRQ revealed its final iteration of its VCT 2023 roster in October.
James “2ge” Goopio
David “Tehbotol” Monangin
Eroll Jule “EJAY” Delfin
Emmanuel “Emman” Morales
Saibani “fl1pzjder” Rahmad
Hagai “Lmemore” Tewuh
Global Esports
Global Esports has a truly interesting roster heading into the 2023 season with seven players. The roster is as follows:
Jordan “AYRIN” He
Park “Bazzi” Jun-ki
Michael “WRONSKI” Wronski
Kim “t3xture” Na-ra
Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha
Abhirup “Lightningfast” Choudhury
Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar
VCT 2023: EMEA
The ten teams participating in VCT 2023 from the EMEA region are:
Fnatic
Team Liquid
Team Heretics
Natus Vincere
Team Vitality
Karmine Corp
Giants
FUT Esports
BBL Esports
KOI
Fnatic
Fnatic unveiled its full-roster on 10th November and signed Gambit Esports star Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov as its fifth player.
Fnatic VCT 2023 team is as follows:
Jake “Boaster” Howlett
Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
Emir “Alfajer” Beder
Leo “Leo” Jannesson
Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov
James “Mistic” Orfila
Team Liquid
Team Liquid finalized its Valorant roster for 2023 in November. The squad members are:
Dom “soulcas” Sulcas
Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen
Dmitriy “dimasick” Matvienko
Igor “Redgar” Vlasov
Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin
Saif “Sayf” Jibraeel
Team Heretics
Team Heretics’ 2023 roster for Valorant esports is as follows:
Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius
Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt
Wassim “keloqz” Cista
Auni “AvovA” Chahade
Óscar “mixwell” Colocho
Karmine Corp
Karmine Corp unveiled its VCT 2023 roster on 12th November:
Alexis “Newzera” Humbert
Ryad “Shin” Ensaad
Alexandre “xms” Forté
Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom
Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom
Natus Vincere
Natus Vincere revealed its full squad on 8th November:
Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov
Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky
Pontus “Zyppan” Eek
Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin
Mehmet “cNed” İpek
Team Vitality
After an impressive victory in the second VRL (Valorant Regional League) France Split, Team Vitality will now play at the top level of Valorant esports in the EMEA circuit. It announced its 2023 roster on 11th November:
Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener
Tomas “Destrian” Linikas
Michał “MOLSI” Łącki
Jokūbas “ceNder” Labutis
Santeri “BONECOLD” Sassi
Henry Robert Peter “Gorilla” Mepham
Giants
Last year Giants played in the Spanish Valorant Regional League and it has now been selected as one of the ten teams to play in the EMEA circuit. The team is as follows:
Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas
Kirill “Cloud” Nehozhin
Emir “rhyme” Muminovic
Aaro “hoody” Peltokangas
Adolfo “Fit1nho” Gallego
Batuhan “russ” Malgaç
FUT Esports
The Turkish organization of FUT Esports decided to retain its players for the 2023 season. The team is as follows:
Ata “ATA KAPTAN” Tan
Buğra “mojj” Kiraz
Furkan “MrFaliN” Yeğen
Serhat “Muj” Yüksel
Doğukan “qRaxs” Balaban
Konur “qw1” Şahin
BBL Esports
BBL Esports is also a Turkish organization in the EMEA circuit. It signed two new players to round out its new roster:
Ali “AsLanM4shadoW” Balta
Doğukan “QutionerX” Dural
Mehmet “Turko” Özen
Eren “Brave” Kasırga
Efe “Elite” Teber
KOI
The KOI 2023 roster according to the Global Contract Database is as follows:
Ramses “Famsii” Koivukangas
Alex “goked” Kie
Berkant “Wolfen” Joshkun
Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko
Bogdan “Sheydos” Naumov
Jose Luis “koldamenta” Aranguren Herrero
Americas circuit in VCT 2023
The ten teams playing in the Americas circuit are:
100 Thieves (100T)
Cloud9 (C9)
Evil Geniuses (EG)
NRG
Sentinels (SEN)
KRÜ Esports (KRU)
FURIA (FUR)
LOUD
Leviatán (LEV)
MIBR
Sentinels
Sentinels rounded out its 2023 roster by signing World champions from LOUD Esports:
Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
Zachary “zekken” Patrone
Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi
Bryan “pANcada” Luna
Rory “dephh” Jackson
Hunter “SicK” Mims
Cloud9
The biggest signing of the year was probably by Cloud9 as it signed superstar player yay to its 2023 roster:
Nathan “leaf” Orf
Erick “Xeppaa” Bach
Anthony “vanity” Malaspina
Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro
Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker
Mateja “qpert” Mijović
100 Thieves
100 Thieves has only one new signing heading into the 2023 season. The full roster is as follows:
Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk
Derrek “Derrek” Ha
Brenden “stellar” McGrath
Sean “bang” Bezerra
Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban
Evil Geniuses
On 11th November, Evil Geniuses unveiled its 2023 roster. The players are:
Kelden “Boostio” Pupello
Jeffrey “Reformed” Lu
Alexander “jawgemo” Mor
Corbin “C0M” Lee
Vincent “Apotheon” Le
Ethan “Ethan” Arnold
Brendan “BcJ” Jensen
LOUD
LOUD won the Valorant Champions 2022 and became the second Valorant esports World champion. According to the Valorant Global Contract Database and the official announcement, the 2023 roster is as follows:
Erick “aspas” Santos
Felipe “Less” Basso
Matias “Saadhak” Delipetro
Cauan “cauanzin” Pereira
Arthur “tuyz” Vieira
Daniel “fRoD” Montaner
KRÜ Esports
KRÜ announced its Valorant 2023 roster on 21st October. The players are:
Nicolas “Klaus” Ferrari
Juan Pablo “NagZ” Lopez Miranda
Marco “Melser” Amaro
Alexandre “xand” Zizi
Santiago “Daveeys” Ruiz
Carlos “axeddy” Galvão
Leviatán
Leviatán’s VCT 2023 roster is as follows:
Vicente “Tacolilla” Compagnon
Fabian “Shyy” Usnayo
Agustin “Nozwerr” Ibarra
Roberto “Mazino” Bugueño
Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena
Angelo “keznit” Mori
FURIA Esports
FURIA has retained four out of its five players from the 2022 roster. According to the Global Contract Database, the new team is as follows:
Douglas “dgzin” Silva
Khalil “Khalil” Schmidt
Vitor “kon4n” Hugo
Matheus “mazin” Araújo
Leonardo “mwzera” Serrati
Gabriel “qck” Lima
MIBR
According to the Valorant contract database, the following is the MIBR squad for VCT 2023 season:
André “Txozin” Saidel
Matheus “rgim” Bonilla
Murillo “murizzz” Tuchtenhagen
João “jzz” Pedro
Olavo “heat” Marcelo
Leandro “frz” Gomes
NRG
NRG Esports fully overhauled its roster in the offseason and signed the core of OpTic Gaming. The team is as follows:
Sam “s0m” Oh
Pujan “FNS” Mehta
Austin “crashies” Roberts
Victor “Victor” Wong
Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks
Zander “thwifo” Kim
