The in-game leader who took G2 Esports to every VCT global event since Masters Shanghai 2024 is leaving with four Americas titles and no international trophy, on a day that also added Vitality’s head coach PAL to the market.
G2 Esports have said goodbye to Jacob “valyn” Batio after three years as their in-game leader. The club announced the departure on Tuesday evening with a farewell video, eight straight international appearances and four VCT Americas trophies in the post.
The 23-year-old American followed up with a video of his own. He did not say where he is going, only that he has something lined up.
All good things come to an end. And, honestly, the last three, four years with these guys have been amazing. It’s been life-changing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else, you know. The only thing that keeps me sad is that we couldn’t actually, like, reach, you know, the highest of highs with each other.
From The Guard to every global event
valyn came to G2 with the rest of The Guard, the roster that won Ascension Americas in 2023 and then lost its organisation when The Guard did not sign Riot’s partnership agreement. G2 picked up the team and took it into VCT Americas in 2024.
The first season started with a miss: G2 went out of Kickoff in the group stage and watched Masters Madrid from home. From Stage 1 onwards they did not miss again. Second place in that stage sent them to Masters Shanghai, where they finished third, and the run that followed covered every Masters and every Champions for two and a half years.
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Masters Shanghai | 3rd |
| 2024 | Champions Seoul | 7th to 8th |
| 2025 | Masters Bangkok | 2nd |
| 2025 | Masters Toronto | 4th |
| 2025 | Champions Paris | 7th to 8th |
| 2026 | Masters Santiago | 4th |
| 2026 | Masters London | 7th to 8th |
| 2026 | Champions Shanghai | 4th |
At home, 2025 was the peak. G2 won Kickoff, Stage 1 and Stage 2, three of the four VCT Americas titles of the valyn era, and reached the Masters Bangkok grand final, where T1 beat them. The fourth regional title came in Stage 1 of 2026.
That is the record valyn himself pointed to. Eight events, never worse than top eight, but no trophy, with the Bangkok final the closest they came. Champions Shanghai was the last attempt: G2 lost to 100 Thieves in the lower bracket and finished fourth, two series short of the grand final that LOUD won.
A captainless G2 for 2027
G2 have a partner seat for 2027, so the league place is safe. The roster is not. VLR now lists four players, jawgemo, BABYBAY, trent and leaf, with JoshRT as head coach, and the shotcalling that held the core together for three seasons has to be replaced. Assistant coach shhhack has also been allowed to explore his options, while saying he is still in talks with G2.
In his video, valyn kept the door open for a reunion of a different kind. “Hopefully I can see you guys at a Masters or something. We can both make it, have a little duel. It’d be very poetic, you know,” he said.
PAL leaves Vitality with a year left
The other big name added since Pley’s list of departures on Monday is a coach. Team Vitality announced on Monday evening that Gregor “PAL” Morton is leaving after one season in charge, two days after the club said goodbye to Derke.
The Scot is not a free agent yet. His contract runs through the 2027 season, which makes him a restricted free agent, VLR noted from Riot’s contract database. He wrote on X that he is in no hurry.
The time has come for me to move on. Still under contract + happy to wait for the right opportunity but ready for a new adventure. Thank you to Vitality for backing my vision from the start and I’m glad the boys showed their best when it mattered most.
His one year brought Vitality’s best international result. The team finished second in EMEA Stage 1, fourth at Masters London and reached the Champions Shanghai grand final, where LOUD won 3-1. Vitality’s roster now lists four players: Jamppi, PROFEK, Chronicle and Sayonara.
audaz and a whole T1 academy on the market
Soner “audaz” Ekiz announced on Monday that his contract with Eternal Fire is ending and that he has been allowed to explore his options for 2027. The 20-year-old Turkish Controller player says he is open to all regions and speaks English and Turkish. He was part of the ULF Esports roster that came through EMEA Ascension in 2025 and was then replaced in the league by Eternal Fire, which kept the players. Under the new name they were fourth in Stage 1, one step from a first international event, before a 2-3 group stage and a play-in exit in Stage 2. Eternal Fire did not get a partner seat for 2027 but say they will stay in Valorant.
In Korea, T1 have closed their academy team. On Monday morning the club thanked head coach ValAnalysis and the five players, Impact, DarK, Satoru, Gnadel and wezzy. Norman, general manager of T1’s Valorant division, wrote that the academy’s official operation ends because of the changes to VCT’s partnership rules. T1 keep their partner seat for 2027.
New names since Monday
| Player or coach | Team | Status | Announced |
|---|---|---|---|
 valyn |  G2 Esports | Departure announced | October 27 |
 PAL (head coach) |  Team Vitality | Leaving, restricted free agent under contract to 2027 | October 26 |
 audaz | Eternal Fire | Allowed to explore options, contract ending | October 26 |
| Impact, DarK, Satoru, Gnadel, wezzy, ValAnalysis (coach) |  T1 Academy | Released as the academy team closes | October 26 |
Most of them are still under contract for a few more days. VCT contracts for 2026 run out on November 2, when free agency opens, and the open qualifiers for Kickoff 2027 begin in North America and Europe three days later.
