As VALORANT continues to take off and flourish in Asia, the teams competing at the highest level of the professional circuit are looking to find the next superstar that’s not already a household name.
Gen.G, after a good but not great opening season in VCT Pacific, hit the refresh button on their roster for 2024, and are turning to the public via open tryouts. The team’s recruitment period begins today, with a list of qualifications similar to what other teams have put up: Be over 18, be willing to travel and compete full-time, and be Radiant.
Open tryouts have become a popular trend among teams competing in VCT Pacific, especially during this specific offseason. Gen.G, ZETA DIVISION, and Detonation FocusMe have all hosted open tryouts as part of major roster rebuilds following the 2023 season.
While Gen.G certainly didn’t have as poor of a season as, say, Detonation FocusMe did, it likely didn’t meet the high expectations of one of the biggest brands in Korea after moving to Asia from North America at the start of partnership. The team started 4-0 out of the gate in VCT Pacific, but then lost five straight to end the regular season with a losing record, just missing out on the Masters and Champions spot by one place. The team lost twice to Team Secret in the Pacific LCQ to close out their season.
Both Gen.G and the teams putting on open tryouts are looking to emulate the success that Evil Geniuses had with open tryouts; the NA team took notice of Max “Demon1” Mazanov via an open tryout, who eventually went from reserve player to starter to superstar and finally world champion.
While the likelihood of finding a player with the potential to be the best in the world isn’t very high, the success that EG found has seemingly ignited more interest in public tryouts in Asia at the very least.
