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T1 and GenG end up in APAC, EG is the final NA franchised team

Evil Geniuses are the tenth and final team in the Americas Valorant league. FPX have applied for an APAC... Scott Kostov | 21. September 2022

Evil Geniuses are the tenth and final team in the Americas Valorant league. FPX have applied for an APAC slot and are taking offers for their current roster.

GenG, T1, and Talon Esports make APAC franchising

Eastern teams have done a masterful job of keeping the list of franchised APAC teams a secret. Up until now. Early this morning reports came out that GenG and T1 will get franchised into the APAC international league They will be joined by two Japanese teams on which we have credible reports in Zeta Division and DetonatioN Gaming. Western audiences might remember Zeta Division from their third-place finish at the Reykjavik Masters. Talon Esports was another name floating around and their recent post just confirmed Riot’s decision. Sources claim that teams Xerxia, Nongshim RedForce,Crazy Racoon and Boom Esports did not make the final cut, while Bleed Esports have never even applied for franchising. With the latest update, this is the final list of APAC franchised teams, with Talon Esports being a Taiwanese representative.

FPX taking offers for Valorant roster

Despite a very successful 2022 campaign, in which they won the Masters Copenhagen tournament, FPX are parting ways with their roster. For the last three days, reports were coming out that only one EMEA spot remains unclaimed, and that FPX wouldn’t be the one getting it. Sources say that FPX have followed in the footsteps of T1 and have already applied for an APAC partnership. Unfortunately this marks the end of FPX’s time in the EMEA, who have been a part of the competition since the game was launched. Selling the roster to one of the franchised teams in Europe makes the most sense from any viewpoint.

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FPX preparing for a Chinese roster in the APAC. Credit: Riot Games

Evil Geniuses round up NA franchising

Reports are coming out that Evil Geniuses have secured a partnership deal with Riot Games to be the last team franchised in the Americas Valorant league. They round up the 10-team list that already includes: Sentinels, Cloud9, 100 Thieves, NRG, LOUD, Furia, MIBR, Leviathan, and KRU Esports. Reports are saying that teams like Ninjas in Pajamas and G2 Esports made the shortlist but eventually fell through due to EG’s track record and G2’s recent controversy. The North American organization is one of the most established ones in the region, competing in various titles like CS:GO and League of Legends. They have fielded Valorant rosters from the early days of the scene and considering they haven’t qualified for a single international event, we can expect a revamped look heading into next year.

T1 Valorant dodged a bullet

From day one, everyone in the scene knew it was a bad idea to put their eggs in one basket. T1 and G2 made grave mistakes trying to compete with powerhouse NA brands for a limited number of slots, instead of playing safe and applying for APAC/EMEA franchising. Hope for acceptance quickly dwindled when reports came out that there would only be five North American teams accepted, instead of seven or eight. Considering T1 is the most storied League of Legends franchise in the world and coming out of Korea, the APAC application looked like a no-brainer. Luckily for them, their deep ties with Riot paid off. But what does this mean for teams in Malaysia, Philipinnes, Singapore and the rest of APAC fighting for four slots?