Japanese esports organisation VARREL is set to compete in VCT Pacific for the 2026 season after acquiring the roster of Ascension Pacific winners SLT Seongnam.
In a statement by Riot Games, VARREL has acquired the players and head coach from the South Korean organisation.
The new VARREL roster will see Go ‘C1ndeR‘ Jae-hyuk, Kim ‘Klaus‘ Min-hyuk, Shin ‘oonzmlp‘ Sang-beom, Kim ‘XuNa‘ Tae-geon, and Jang ‘zexy‘ Suk-hyun join as the starting five players.
Goo ‘TK9_주‘ Tae-kyun will continue to be the head coach of the squad and will be supported by analyst Kim ‘R3THME‘ Ki-woon and Seo ‘Rain‘ Hong-seung. The latter is the only new addition compared to the original SLT line-up, as Rain previously worked for Gen.G Global Academy.
With VARREL officially joining, all 12 teams for VCT Pacific have been confirmed. Aside from the Japanese organisation, Thai organisation FULL SENSE has joined the league following the removal of TALON Esports due to financial issues.
VARREL Enters VALORANT Tier 1
For VARREL, this marks the first time the organisation joins a tier-one league in VALORANT. It previously tried to gain a slot in VCT by participating in the VALORANT Challengers League (VCL) Japan in 2024, but the team was mainly around the mid-bottom of the league.
While it’s too early to say whether VARREL will be competing for the top spots, the team recently participated in the SOOP VALORANT League, finishing in the top four after defeating other VCT Pacific and 2025 VCT Champions teams. After beating DRX and Rex Regum Qeon, VARREL lost to the South Korean team T1 in the semi-finals.
Aside from VALORANT, VARREL is known for fielding several teams across multiple game titles, including Overwatch, Apex Legends, Tekken, Street Fighter, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends.
