After losing to a 0.01 second defuse at VCT Ascension 2024 in front of their home crowd, BOOM Esports woke up to life-changing news when they learned Bleed Esports had been removed from the VCT Pacific League in 2025, opening a slot for the Indonesian organization.
On Oct. 4, five days after VCT Ascension 2024, Riot Games removed Bleed Esports from the league. The official announcement said the organization was removed due to “failure to comply with critical reporting requirements and other key obligations under the Team Participation Agreement (TPA).”
It’s not every day a team gets booted out of the VCT League, but Bleed Esports had “persistently” breached Riot’s operation requirements. Bleed Esports secured its slot in franchising by winning VCT Ascension 2023. The Singapore-based organization then fielded VALORANT superstar Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker for the 2024 season.
Though Riot said in its official announcement that it informed all affected players as soon as it made the decision, Bleed players on X (formerly Twitter) said they had essentially lost their jobs overnight and are already seeking new opportunities. VCT Pacific rosters will be locked by Oct. 7, leaving the former Bleed players scrambling to find a new home.
With a new spot opening up in the VCT Pacific League following Bleed Esports’ departure, Riot will stay in line with its merit-based qualification. BOOM Esports will join the 11 franchised teams after finishing second at VCT Ascension 2024.
Indonesian fans were gutted to see their hometown heroes taking a narrow loss against Sin Prisa Gaming in the grand final of Ascension. BOOM Esports fumbled a three-vs-one retake after Persia’s Brimstone prevented the defuse with 0.015 seconds remaining to have their hopes and dreams shattered.
In a similar situation to M80 in the Americas league, VCT Ascension 2024 marked BOOM Esports’ second failure to make it to franchising after finishing third at the 2023 iteration, where they lost to the eventual winner, Bleed Esports. However, a second chance has been birthed as the organization will make its debut at the VCT Pacific League since the franchising system was implemented.
Like the Bleed Esports players, the BOOM Esports crew were informed of this decision on the same day.
“I only knew today too, this is all still a shock even to us, but I am very happy to hear everyone’s kind words and support, honestly all of this is possible thanks to all you fans. That spirit bomb worked. And congrats to my boys, you know I love you all,” BOOM Esports CEO Gary Ongko tweeted.
The change between the two teams in the upcoming VCT Pacific League in 2025 will not affect the tournament format. Riot plans to continue with 12 participants as initially planned.
