Japan’s entry into professional Valorant has excited fans who were always curious about Japan’s involvement in the global esports scene. In Stage 3 of the Valorant Champions Tour, two slots were allotted to Japanese teams resulting in Crazy Raccoons and Zeta Division qualifying for Masters Berlin. Unfortunately for Zeta Division, their results at Masters Berlin were disappointing. The team failed to win any of their matches in their group and failed to reach the tournament’s playoff stage. 

With the last chance qualifiers being their only recourse to making it to Valorant Champions, the Japanese team made a surprising announcement regarding their participation and the 2022 Valorant season.

According to a news post published on the team’s website, Valorant’s Zeta Division will withdraw from participating in the Asian-Pacific (APAC) last chance qualifier for Valorant Champions, the largest event in the Valorant Champions Tour for 2021. It’s disappointing news for sure, but the reasoning behind Zeta Division’s withdrawal remains understandable. 

The post notes that Zeta Division’s Valorant team posted good results in domestic and official competitions before this year’s VCT. Still, the squad was unable to make it to the international competition during Stages 1 and 2. With Stage 3, expectations were set to undergo reorganization should the team falter at Masters Berlin. 

Even though Stage 3 saw Zeta Division playing well at the domestic level and qualifying for Berlin, the results were less than expected. Zeta Division’s primary goal with their Valorant team is to field a roster that’s capable of competing at the global level. The news post describes Zeta Division’s commitment to spend the remainder of the year preparing for the 2022 Valorant season and rebuilding the team to compete internationally better. This includes restructuring not only the player roster but coaches, management, and administrative staff. 

It’s easy to understand Zeta Division’s frustration, but so far, no announcements have been made regarding the player roster. Whether the team decides to relocate their roster to Europe or North America to improve their skills is unknown. Still, there are plenty of worthy opponents in the Asia-Pacific region to practice with. 

Zeta Division’s statements should encourage fans of the Japanese organization and Japanese esports in general. The desire to grow and dedicate time to that growth is a good sign that the region is ready to mature and become a region that can capitalize on its gaming culture to great success. We should expect more from Zeta Divisionf in the upcoming 2022 season, and hopefully, they will have made the improvements they need to make by then.