The players will be attending one final event representing ARF Team before their departure following participation at the 2024 APAC Predator League in Manila, Philippines.
INDONESIA – ARF Team have announced that the partnership with their VALORANT squad will end a month from now following their participation at the APAC Predator League scheduled for January 11-14. This news comes as a surprise, especially considering the team’s recent achievement in qualifying for the aforementioned event through the Indonesia Qualifier where they trailed only behind BOOM Esports.
Despite parting ways, Ryan “Lilo” Betrand and company plan to remain intact for the 2024 season and are currently seeking a new home to represent. On the other side of the table, the organization has reaffirmed its commitment to VALORANT, planning to field a new roster in the upcoming season.
The impending release of the ARF Team roster comes during a challenging time for Indonesian VALORANT, with Bigetron Esports pulling out in June and uncertainty surrounding Alter Ego following their underperformance at Predator League Indonesia, which resulted in the departure of three of their players.
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The core of the Indonesian lineup had been together for just over a year, while Sergio “no1syboy” Rahardja and Rey Sebastian “vascalizz” Pardede had by far the longest tenure to almost two years dating back to their participation under the ‘Babi Guling’ pseudonym in the Open Qualifier of VCT Indonesia Stage 2 Challengers last year.
Ryan “Lilo” Betrand and Michael “Mika” Setiawan joined the team towards the end of 2022, and Rayhan “zhar” Azhar was the latest to come on board, joining the roster in August as a replacement for the departing Nico “Nay” Alvanius post-VCT.
ARF Team have been making noise in the upper echelons of professional play in Indonesia, working their way up to finishing third in VCL Indonesia Split 1 after a near-complete lower bracket run in the playoffs, only to be defeated twice by BOOM Esports, the eventual finalists, in both the upper-bracket semi-finals and lower final. Despite this success, they couldn’t replicate their performance in the following Split’s LAN events, finishing in 5-6th place.
Ending the year on a high note, ARF managed to secure a victory in DGWIB Season 3 against the lower-tier teams of Challengers Indonesia and achieved a runner-up finish in Predator League Indonesia 2024, a success that qualified them for their first international LAN event, which is scheduled to take place in Manila, Philippines.
The following ARF Team members are set to enter free agency following the end of the 2024 APAC Predator League:
- 🇮🇩 Sergio “no1syboy” Rahardja
- 🇮🇩 Rey Sebastian “vascalizz” Pardede
- 🇮🇩 Ryan “Lilo” Betrand
- 🇮🇩 Michael “Mika” Setiawan
- 🇮🇩 Rayhan “zhar” Azhar
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Cover photo courtesy of VALORANT Esports Indonesia