Despite the franchising debate, VCT 2023 was a thrilling run, and while all three leagues hosted some incredible VALORANT games and experiences, VCT Pacific surpassed a whole lot of expectations. Unsurprisingly, Riot Games took the initiative to honor the region’s best-performing teams in a documentary series.
The introductory year of the VCT partnership program saw 10 Pacific teams, nurturing talent from across the Asia-Pacific belt, battle it out to earn the champion’s title in their region. While it included a few well-established rosters like Paper Rex, DRX, and ZETA Division, most of Pacific’s partners were underdogs, picked up to showcase their worth on the international stage for the first time.
Not just the partnership league; like the Americas and EMEA, the Pacific region also hailed a bunch of promising Ascension teams, who fought through the cutthroat Challengers path for a chance to be included in the international league. There are a lot of stories to remember from VCT Pacific 2023, but to make the recall easier, Riot’s four-part documentary series celebrates the best ones from the collection.
The first part of the series, titled REDEMPTION, highlights the Last Chance Qualifiers run, which was the last chance for partnered Pacific teams to qualify for VALORANT Champions 2023. Featuring seven teams who couldn’t qualify through circuit points, the LCQ saw Gen.G, ZETA Division, Team Secret, and Rex Regum Qeon display astonishing growth, which is exactly what REDEMPTION highlights.
The second documentary is titled ASCENSION, and as its name suggests, celebrates the region’s Ascension games in 2023, showcasing what it was like for 10 rising teams to battle for just one league spot.
The third part, named THE 6TH MAN, recalls Paper Rex’s dilemma when the team’s best duelist, Ilya “something” Petrov, couldn’t secure his visa on time to participate in VCT Masters Tokyo, one of 2023’s most prestigious international events. With PRX content creator Patiphan “CGRS” Posri acting as the replacement, fans didn’t have much hope for the roster, especially because of something’s contribution to the team that far. Despite the shortcomings, PRX went on to become the event’s second runners-up, shredding down teams like DRX, NRG, and EDward Gaming, and CGRS played a huge role in the success. Fun fact:Iin the documentary, coach Alecks shares that CGRS was hired as a sixth man for the roster, not as a content creator, as many believe.
The fourth and final part of the documentary series sheds light on four Pacific teams with the steepest growth curves throughout the league—Paper Rex, DRX, ZETA Division, and T1. All four of them made it to VALORANT Champions 2023 through a hard, stormy path, leading to them displaying some of the most riveting performances in the VCT history on their way to the year-end tournament.
With Bleed Esports’ addition to the league after its Ascension win, the VCT Pacific international league now consists of 11 teams, ready to start their 2024 journey on Feb. 17.
