Champions 2022 will be the fifth international LAN attended by the core of XERXIA Esports XERXIA Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #30 b3ta Puwadon Jaisuekul Siraww Siraphop Honghirun bnwgiggs . Last year's Champions was the peak of the roster's efforts.

The lively and enchanting team brought fun to the event even as they were confined to a separate playing room. Hero plays were converted time and time again as the players cemented their names among the world's best. A joyous 2021 run culminated in a top eight finish at last year's Champions for the then-X10 roster.

Their current season has not followed the same path.

Their title as the premier team from the SEA region was stolen by the thunder of Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov . XERXIA is 0-3 against the Copenhagen runner-ups this year. An impressive victory over rivals OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming Inactive at Reykjavik is their only series win at Masters events.

Still, optimism persists for the squad.

The smiles of XERXIA always feel so contagious. (Photo: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

Despite a brief appearance from FULL SENSE FULL SENSE Asia-Pacific Rank #5 JohnOlsen Chanawin Nakchain Leviathan Thanyathon Nakmee aLerT Wattanachok Yingnakorn Potter Sutthichai Promsrikaew Sushiboys Panyawat Subsiriroj on the international stage, XERXIA has been the lone representative for Thailand Valorant to the world.

Their loss of star duelist Patiphan to the Overwatch League has not halted their domestic dominance. The roster has not lost a series to another Thai team since October of last year. Even with their aforementioned struggles against Paper Rex, XERXIA is still definitively in the top two in APAC Challengers.

Those successes at the Challengers level qualified them directly to Istanbul, regardless of their poor placings at Masters events.

XERXIA's losses internationally can also be seen in a positive light. In Reykjavik, the team was just one round away from qualifying to the playoffs stage before ultimately falling on map three to Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #23 nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Keiko Georgio Sanassy kamo Kamil Frąckowiak . Their elimination came at the hands of OpTic, the eventual winners.

Copenhagen followed a similar storyline. The Thai team fell to eventual champions FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Zyppan Pontus Eek ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky ardiis Ardis Svarenieks in the group stage, albeit with SEIDER filling in for SUYGETSU. XERXIA was sent home by NORTHEPTION NORTHEPTION Japan Rank #18 , again in a brutal OT loss on map three.

All four defeats saw close finishes on many maps which ended in a loss for XERXIA. It's not hard to envision a gunfight win here or there that could have changed the trajectory of each of those matchups.

Regional success combined with their international competitiveness have given XERXIA reason to believe.

XERXIA hopes to recreate another winning moment against NA in their opener. (Photo: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

The team is certainly not lacking the talent to compete at the international level. sScary remains regarded as one of the top controller players in the world. Jett and Chamber player Surf has replaced Patiphan admirably, providing great impact with the Operator. Sushiboys loves his sentinels (Killjoy in particular), and plays to the needs of the team. Crws and foxz round out the squad with great support play and each have the capacity to frag well.

XERXIA enters a group that could provide an opening to the elusive playoffs stage. Group C includes XERXIA, reigning winners FunPlusPhoenix, KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #3 keznit Angelo Mori Mazino Roberto Rivas adverso Benjamín Poblete mta Nicolás González Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro , and XSET XSET Inactive . KRU has followed a similar route to XERXIA: great success in 2021, followed by the inability to win more than one series at Reykjavik and Copenhagen. After losing to FPX with a sub at Copenhagen, it's difficult to predict a positive result if that matchup comes to pass.

The XERXIA roster will face off against XSET in their opening match. Perhaps the Thai lineup's successes against OpTic can be replicated against another North American roster. A Surf vs. Cryocells Operator battle is a tantalizing clash that viewers won't want to miss.

That opening fight is scheduled for Saturday, Sept 3rd at 8:00 a.m. EST. It will be almost two months since their last official match when they play again, and almost a year since the team made it to an international playoff bracket.

Uncertainties lie on the horizon for the team, with franchising and sScary's reported openness to offers for 2023. The stage has been set for XERXIA to burst back into international relevance at Champions.

The time is now for XERXIA.