ZETA DIVISION promote ryota- to head coach; move XQQ to assistant coach
The move sees ryota- take over the top role as ZETA DIVISION look to bounce back from a disappointing Kickoff finish.
JAPAN – ZETA DIVISION have announced that Ryota "ryota-" Okayama has been promoted to head coach, with Hibiki "XQQ" Motoyama moving into an assistant coach role ahead of VCT Pacific Stage 1.
The change comes just days before ZETA DIVISION begin their Stage 1 campaign, where they are set to face RRQ on Week 1 Day 3. "Although this was announced suddenly, the whole team, including XQQ, is fully united and ready to fight through Stage 1 together," ryota- said on Twitter.
While this will be ryota-'s first time leading ZETA DIVISION’s main VALORANT roster, he is far from inexperienced when it comes to the role. He previously served as head coach of ZETA DIVISION GC during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, overseeing one of the most dominant stretches in Japan’s Game Changers scene. During that period, the squad won every GC Japan split across both years, establishing themselves as the clear standard-bearer of the region.
That domestic success also translated into strong results internationally within the wider APAC Game Changers ecosystem. Under ryota-, ZETA DIVISION GC finished second at Game Changers East Asia 2023 and later claimed another runner-up finish at Game Changers Pacific 2024. Their 2024 run ultimately secured them a place at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship, where they ended their campaign in 5th-6th place against the world’s best.
After the 2024 season, ryota- returned to the Challengers Japan circuit as coach of SCARZ, though the team only managed a 5th-6th place finish in Split 1. He was later loaned to RIDDLE ORDER for Split 2 and the Season Finals, helping the team secure the title and qualify for VCT Ascension Pacific in Bangkok, where they were eliminated in last place.
In November 2025, ryota- returned to ZETA DIVISION to join the main team’s coaching staff, which was then led by XQQ.
This is also not the first time XQQ has stepped away from the head coaching role. At the end of 2024, he was moved into an associate coach position following the appointment of Ivan "Johnta" Shevtsov as head coach. However, with the Ukrainian unable to travel to Seoul with the team and later parting ways with the organization, XQQ resumed head coaching duties for the start of the 2025 season in Stage 1.
Under the new setup, ryota- will lead a coaching staff that includes XQQ, analyst Shuhei "gya9" Takasaki, and coaching advisor Jacob "mini" Harris, formerly of FNATIC and Paper Rex.
ZETA DIVISION have had a shaky start to the season, finishing 9th-10th at Kickoff with their only win coming against Team Secret. They did, however, push DRX to a close 1-2 series before being eliminated.
In their bid to reclaim Japan’s top spot from DetonatioN FocusMe, the team added several reinforcements ahead of the season early this year, signing former MURASH GAMING players Kazuki "Absol" Fujinoki and Shota "SyouTa" Aoki, the latter returning to the ZETA banner after his brief stint with the team earlier in 2025, alongside former Gen.G player Yeom "eKo" Wang-ryong.
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