Cover-Credits:
On 16th September, Indian esports organization Global Esports announced the signing of star player Benedict “Benkai” Tan from Paper Rex. Benkai is the first player to be confirmed as part of Global Esports' Valorant 2024 season where it will hope to reach new heights in Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific. The same day, Paper Rex also bid farewell to Benkai and thanked him for his contributions to the team.
Notably, Global Esports and Paper Rex have swapped two of their players around as Paper Rex also announced that it has signed former Global Esports controller Cahya "Monyet" Nugraha.
Global Esports Rebuilds Its Valorant Roster for 2024
Ever since the VCT Pacific transfer window opened on 11th September, organizations have been announcing their new rosters. Firstly, on 12th September, Global Esports bid adieu to Jordan "AYRIN" He. AYRIN tweeted that his contract with the Indian organization expired and that he was not renewing. He also noted that he is seeking opportunities in North America (NA) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) as an in-game leader (IGL).
Currently, the Global Esports lineup looks like the following:
Benedict “Benkai” Tan
Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar (Inactive)
Abhirup “Lightningfast” Choudhury (Inactive)
Park “Bazzi” Jun-ki (Inactive)
Peter “Spin” Bradford (Coach)
Morgan “BigTime” Jay (Assistant coach)
With Benkai's signing, it is a surety that he will serve as the team's IGL moving forward.
Notably, Benkai was benched by Paper Rex after Week 4 of the VCT Pacific league. In his place, the team brought in Russian duelist Ilya "something" Petrov. With this changed roster, Paper Rex won the Pacific League, finished in the top three at VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo, and also managed to reach the grand final at Valorant Champions 2023.
Despite having a rather quite season in the league, Benkai is still highly regarded as one of the best IGLs in the esport. Before entering Valorant esports, Benkai was a part of the Paper Rex Counter-Strike team and had been associated with the organization since 2020.
One of the major questions that loomed large over Global Esports' VCT 2024 season was whether the organization would sign Indian players. Answering this, Global Esports CEO Rushindra Sinha revealed that there would be Indian players in the new roster. He added, "I can't share any more details. I can't share any more, but yes. Don't worry."
