TALON is officially out of the VCT Pacific League following their removal by Riot Games.
SOUTH KOREA – Riot Games has officially removed TALON Esports from the VCT Pacific League, ending their run as one of the original 10 partnered teams since 2023. The organization will not compete in the upcoming 2026 season in Seoul after failing “to operate and manage its team in accordance with league standards, including a pattern of significantly overdue payments to players and an inability to demonstrate sufficient financial capacity to continue participating in the VCT.”
“After being made aware of delayed payments to players and other financial issues, Riot Games worked closely with TALON for over a month, and even granted extensions to allow TALON to demonstrate material improvement, but TALON was ultimately unable to meet the standards required to continue as a partner in the VCT. The individual players affected have been informed and are allowed to explore other opportunities within our esports ecosystem.
Riot Games has sent invitations to a number of teams in APAC as part of a selective competitive application process to find a replacement team. We will provide an update when we have finalized the process. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate this transition.”
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(Photo courtesy of VCT Pacific)
TALON has been under increased scrutiny in recent months for delayed player payments and prize money distribution in other games. In an August statement, the organization acknowledged the issue, saying: “Our operations remain stable, but we would like to acknowledge that there have been unforeseen delays in prize payments. We understand that this may cause concern for our players, and we have taken active steps to resolve this issue. All outstanding amounts will be transferred to former Talon players by September 6, 2025, and to current players by September 30, 2025. We regret the delay and sincerely apologize to our players for the inconvenience caused.”
More recently, the Hong Kong–based organization became embroiled in a financial dispute surrounding a US$1 million loan intended to cover player salaries and operating costs, which it failed to fully repay the loan interest by the agreed deadline, according to documents obtained by The Esports Advocate’s James Fudge. It has since been resolved, according to a now-deleted post from TALON CEO and Co-Founder Sean Zhang in late-August.
According to the organization’s website, which has not been updated in some time following the departure of most of its teams and content creators, TALON lists operations across several titles, including League of Legends, VALORANT, Dota 2, Arena of Valor, and Rainbow Six Siege, along with a roster of 18 content creators.
Their flagship division remains their League of Legends team, run in partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Esports (PSG Esports) and featuring Qatar Airways as the front-of-jersey sponsor. The team is also a League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) Partner Team and most recently competed at the 2025 League of Legends World Championship.
UPDATE: TALON Esports has also been removed from the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), with their partnership terminated for the same reasons cited in the VCT Pacific announcement.
TALON first entered the VALORANT ecosystem in April 2022 with a majority-Filipino roster. The organization was later accepted into the VCT Pacific League in September 2022 and began operating out of South Korea with a Thai-majority core headlined by Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut and Jittana “JitboyS” Nokngam, both of whom have remained with the team since the start of the partnership era in 2023.
Competitively, the team finished 9th in their debut 2023 season, climbed to 4th in 2024 to qualify for VALORANT Champions Seoul, and further improved to 3rd in 2025, falling just shy of a Champions Paris berth.
This marks the second time in VCT Pacific history that a team has been removed from the league. In 2024, BLEED Esports lost its guest partnership slot after failing to comply with key reporting requirements and other obligations under the Team Participation Agreement (TPA). It also becomes the third removal across the entire VCT ecosystem, following BLEED Esports in VCT Pacific and KOI in VCT EMEA.
Full statement from TALON:
“Dear Talon Family, it is with deep sadness and regret that we announce today our departure from Valorant, following Riot’s removal of our team from the VCT.
We fully accept Riot’s decision and appreciate their continued efforts and collaboration over the past month to address outstanding issues. While we remain confident that these matters can be resolved, we understand and respect Riot’s need to proceed with this course of action.
Our current financial difficulties are primarily the result of several months of delays in funding from our current financing round, which was originally scheduled to be completed much earlier this year. These delays have significantly affected our esports business operations across the board.
Our current priority is to ensure our talented roster can compete as a team under a new organization for the upcoming season. We are coordinating with Riot to facilitate a smooth transition and will provide whatever additional support to our players. There is nothing more important for us to ensure that the players are put in a position to reach their full potential.
TALON will be taking a step back from VALORANT Esports to reassess our future. We would like to thank all of our fans everywhere for their support throughout our entire journey.”
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Cover photo courtesy of TALON Esports
