ZETA Division overhauls Valorant roster and coaching Staff for VCT 2024

ZETA Division is undergoing a significant transformation ahead of the VCT 2024 season, with key players shifting roles and fresh talent on the horizon.

The renowned Japanese Valorant team, ZETA Division, has announced significant changes to its roster as it gears up for the highly anticipated VCT 2024 season. After a challenging run in VCT 2023, which saw them miss out on key events, the organization has bid farewell to two of its long-standing members while promoting another to a coaching role.

VALORANT ROSTER UPDATE💪🍖🥚 pic.twitter.com/4ZxtSwRAIX

— ZETA DIVISION (@zetadivision) September 29, 2023

According to the official announcement, head coach Hibiki “XQQ” Motoyama and player Tenta “TENNN” Asai have opted to shift their focus to content creation roles. Meanwhile, Tomoaki “Crow” Maruoka, a longstanding team member, has embraced a coaching position. Crow has been a stalwart member of the team and played a pivotal role in its success. His transition to a coaching role suggests that he will bring a wealth of in-game experience to guide the team from the sidelines.

ZETA Division’s journey in 2023 VCT

Despite featuring a high profile roster ZETA Division faced a series of challenges in the 2023 VCT Season. They secured a partnership with Riot Games but faced tough competition from regional and global teams. Their journey included a loss to Leviatan at the LOCK//IN event and a 5th-6th place finish in the VCT Pacific league playoffs, causing them to miss Masters Tokyo.

While they did manage to qualify for Valorant Champions 2023 through the VCT Pacific LCQ, they were placed in a challenging group alongside Fnatic, NRG, and Bilibili Gaming. The team struggled and was eventually eliminated from the group stage.

The new direction for ZETA Division

With VCT 2024 on the horizon, ZETA Division has taken decisive steps to revamp its roster. They announced that TENNN and coach XQQ would be transitioning to content creation roles, while Crow, a long-standing team member, will now assume a coaching position. These changes were discussed in detail on “THE XQQ AND CROW SHOW,” which premiered on ZETA Division’s YouTube Channel.

While ZETA Division has not yet announced replacements for the vacant spots on their roster, these changes indicate a positive step forward. The team has been grappling with role-related challenges since the meta shifted in 2023. Their performance at Valorant Champions 2023 showed promise, but they still fell short of being a top international team.

It remains to be seen who ZETA Division will bring in to fill the vacant positions, with hopes that these additions will bring stability and help the team climb the ranks in the Pacific region. The team has just over a month to fill the vacant spots as they prepare for the Red Bull Home Ground 4 event in Tokyo, where they will compete against other top VCT teams, including Fnatic, Cloud9, and DRX.

Header: Lance Skundrich/Riot Games