World’s worst Tier 1 Valorant team finally gets a win after over a year of losing in VCT

Declan Mclaughlin

DetonatioN FocusMe recorded its first win since the VCT leagues began in VCT Pacific by defeating T1 2-1 in their first match of Split 1 of the 2024 season.

DetonatioN FocusMe won its first professional match since 2022 in a Split 1 series against T1 Esports on April 9. The Japanese side was invited into the VCT Pacific in late 2022 by Riot Games and went the entire 2023 season without recording a win.

DetonatioN FocusMe was the only team across the three leagues that year to not record a win at some point in the 2023 season and was dubbed the worst VCT-partnered team. The team was even compared to the Shanghai Dragons team that lost over 40 matches in the Overwatch League.

DFM went to the first international event of 2023, VCT LOCK//IN, and immediately left the tournament after losing to Giants Gaming. The team then went 0-9 in the VCT Pacific league, missing out on the playoffs and Masters Tokyo. The team’s final chance to secure a win in the league was the Last Chance Qualifier tournament for Valorant Champions 2023, but the squad lost in the first round to Talon Esports.

The team couldn’t even secure a win outside of Riot’s partnered league as it went 0-3 in a 2023/34 offseason event.

In the offseason, DFM made some major changes on the business side of its operation, and its Valorant roster. The company partnered with fellow Japanese esports organization, Crazy Raccoon, and merged its Valorant staff and rosters.

The team opened the 2024 season with two losses in the VCT Pacific Kickoff tournament, but they turned their fortunes around at the start of the regular season. DFM took down a highly-rated T1 side by winning the first and final map, Ascent and Sunset respectively, of the three-game series in its opening Split 1 match.

About The Author

Based in Indiana, Declan McLaughlin is an esports reporter for Dexerto Esports covering Valorant, LoL and anything else that pops up. Previously an editor and reporter at Upcomer, Declan is often found reading investigative stories or trying to do investigations himself. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University. You can contact him at declan.mclaughlin@dexerto.com.