DFM’s newest addition, Koki “gyen” Nakamura, will miss the VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational due to health concerns.
CHINA – DetonatioN FocusMe have announced that Koki “gyen” Nakamura will miss the upcoming VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational, scheduled from November 21 to December 1, due to health concerns.
In a statement, gyen explained that the decision was made after “discussions with my teammates, coach, and medical professionals.” While no specific details were provided, he shared that he will “take some time to recover in Japan until I’m ready to perform my best.”
“Competing offline for the first time at the Red Bull Home Ground was an incredible experience, and seeing so many people recognize and support me in person and on social media has been a tremendous source of encouragement. For now, I’ll focus on my recovery to return to my full potential.”
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gyen was scouted by DetonatioN FocusMe straight from ranked play, having no prior competitive experience in VALORANT. Despite this, it was a successful debut for him at the Red Bull Home Ground Play-In, finishing second on the team’s scoreboard with a 1.14 VLR rating in their BO3 match against ZETA DIVISION, just behind Ibuki “Meiy” Seki.
Stepping in for gyen at the Chengdu event will be Tomonori “SSeeS” Okimura, a 28-year-old who has been with DFM throughout the 2024 season and is now serving as a substitute. SSeeS will take over gyen’s role as the team’s controller, a role he also held during the 2024 season alongside Meiy, the only other remaining member from that roster.
DetonatioN FocusMe will be looking to build on their momentum after showing a glimpse of potential at the Red Bull Home Ground APAC Play-In, where they defeated Talon Esports in a best-of-one and nearly took down ZETA DIVISION in their best-of-three semi-final. However, they face a tough challenge in their opener, as they go up against none other than the 2024 VALORANT world champions, EDward Gaming, in front of their home crowd in China.
DetonatioN FocusMe will play the VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational with the following roster:
- 🇯🇵 Ibuki “Meiy” Seki
- 🇰🇷 Yu “Akame” Gwang-hui
- 🇯🇵 Koki “Art” Kagami
- 🇰🇷 Kim “Jinboong” Jin-won
- 🇯🇵 Tomonori “SSeeS” Okimura
- 🇯🇵 Koki “gyen” Nakamura (DNP)
- 🇯🇵 Hirotaka “Melofovia” Okazaki (Coach)
- 🇯🇵 “NorthernLights” (Coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of Hisashi “Yossy” Yoshimura
