After waiting for almost an entire month, all Challengers Leagues within Southeast Asia have either finalized their participants or are already well on their way through the regular season.

The Pacific region (including East Asia and South Asia) holds the most amount of Challengers League with 10, with SEA and OCE accounting for six. All of the leagues have carried over their previous divisions, with APAC having the experience of running national circuits since 2021.

VCL Malaysia/Singapore

While Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #5 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov might have left Malaysia/Singapore for the Pacific League, there are still plenty of actions afoot for the rest of the teams that retained their place in the region. Four teams were invited into the 2023 season: BLEED BLEED Inactive retaining their explosive Singaporean core with the addition of crazyguy and sScary of XERXIA fame into the mix; and Todak Todak Asia-Pacific Rank #30 toggle Darwish Hakim kye Hazim Salihuddin aduka Muhammad Arsyad Sazali kael Tarmizi Rusli , one of the oldest teams in the region, keeping their all-Malaysian core with the returning aduka from a stint in South Asia.

However, aduka wasn't the only one coming from South Asia. Enigma Gaming Enigma Gaming Inactive Divine Yeoh Chun Ting FREY Ingram Tan STYRON Tidus Goh Xan artn Ayrton Soh , one of the most storied organizations from the region have picked up a roster consisting of former LaZe LaZe Inactive Divine Yeoh Chun Ting lenne Lim You Xiang Lionel Tempz Pierre Heng Xan hyk Kenji Tang and Gaimin Gladiators Gaimin Gladiators Inactive FREY Ingram Tan dzii Daven Cheong STYRON Tidus Goh nephh Marcus Tan artn Ayrton Soh players Divine , FREY , and STYRON while adding Xan (ex- No Namers No Namers Inactive bryce Bryce Lee shiba Zhan Teng Toh ) and theDoctorr , another returning name from Orangutan. Another organization, X10 Esports X10 Esports Inactive Vera Rodman Yap Tempz Pierre Heng RedKoh Danial Hakim wayne Wayne Chang Egoist Javier Chua , has also jumped region. Previously from Thailand, they picked up an all-Singaporean roster spearheaded by former UwU UwU Inactive jarpiX Pooi Shen Jie Justin FirstLove Darren Mok Yong Xiang Zeno Yu Zhijun (余智竣) bbalto Haiqal Nagib and BLEED BLEED Inactive player Chrysania .

The last four slots are filled with both newcomers and veterans, such as Louvre Louvre Inactive ExTreMisTz wisa Winston Ho kayle Ahmad Aqil dumin Du-Min Yeo Reverie Steven Kang Kai Lun with an all-new roster, Hey! Yakiniku Hey! Yakiniku Inactive shiba Zhan Teng Toh Brxndon Brandon Goh dzii Daven Cheong benaf Benedict Tan Retla Jorell Teo Moosey Yeow Zhen Feng consisting of the 2020 PRX core, as well as Kizuna Esports Kizuna Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #98 SHINSEI Yeo Zhong Kang and Team Path Team Path Inactive zeeq Muhammad Hazeeq bin Shammim Pecal Faishal Afiq toggle Darwish Hakim Wrath Dzul Hilmie Rexxy .

A list of the VCL MY/SG teams Image by Riot Games/The Gaming Company

VCL Indonesia

Similarly to MY/SG, Indonesia offered up four invited slots, Alter Ego Alter Ego Asia-Pacific Rank #4 Nakya Alehandro Fabian Simanjorang adrnking Adrian Setiawan sayoo Willy Ivandra Cud Thomas Alfiantino gotten Davin , Bigetron Arctic Bigetron Arctic Asia-Pacific Rank #17 k1ngkappa , Inactive , and recent Champions attendee BOOM Esports BOOM Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #2 dos9 Zhumagali Dastan Famouz Fikri Zaki Hamdani Shiro Hildegard Arnaldo NcSlasher Sheldon Andersen Chandra BerserX Rizkie Adla Kusuma . With the disbandment of ONIC G ONIC G Inactive during the off-season, many of its players found new homes, with severiNe and Shiro going to BOOM replacing fl1pzjder and xffero who were bound for the Pacific League while NcSlasher goes to reinforce Bigetron Arctic alongside ZesBeeW fresh off a stint in the Philippines with Nigma Galaxy Nigma Galaxy Inactive Yohann Ronard Tecson Karl Carlo Ocampo .

Indonesia had two stages of open qualifiers that would eventually lead up to four teams, amounting to a total of eight. Returning names from previous Challengers in ARF TEAM ARF TEAM Asia-Pacific Rank #28 and Hike Digital Esports Hike Digital Esports Inactive Madelyn Raven William zhar Rayhan Filardhi Azhar Kylee Muhammad Syafrizal Peekaboo Bryant k1ngkappa joined the lineup alongside newcomers Dominatus Dominatus Inactive sTizzy capeesha Mikhael Faisal Tarigan goldenblue Millen Chen tupai Yoga Ade Pratomo 6ixKey Muhammad Nabil Rudi and Hero Zero ANUBIS Hero Zero ANUBIS Inactive realcasperr Kafka Nythan da1zzie AmerNone Frenda Ang Saivon . Both ARF and Hike Digital retained their lineup from last year; Dominatus boasted a mix of veterans and young superstars like ValdyN formerly of Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #11 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan Estrella Park Gun (박건) and ONIC G ONIC G Inactive and ray4c , a well-known Raze specialist. Hero Zero first caught the eyes of the interregional competition in ESL Clash of Nations, formerly known as Fear Eater Esports Fear Eater Esports Inactive mikezin Kipp fayy Mfy MRVL .

The full team roster of VCL Indonesia are:

VCL Philippines

The Philippines saw only 3 out of 8 teams from their latest Challengers returning, with both Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #11 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan Estrella Park Gun (박건) and Team Secret Team Secret Asia-Pacific Rank #8 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes JessieVash Jessie Cuyco Wild0reoo Brheyanne Christ Reyes 2GE James Goopio Jremy Jeremy Cabrera being accepted into Riot's Partnership program and most of the teams disbanding during the offseason.

Similar to Indonesia's ONIC G, the disbandment of South Built Esports South Built Esports Inactive azys Azis Nandang Pro Chris Martir flippy Philip Marique resulted in their players joining the likes of NAOS NAOS Asia-Pacific Rank #29 sultan Sultan Akbay PatMen Patrick Mendoza PTC Kititkawin Rattanasukol xavi8k Xavier Juan Mojer Jerome Literal having JA and Papi and Action PH Action PH Inactive SyKo Daddie Shunmar Bellita eugeneS Eugene Serrano Narpim Clark Karoll Landrito SecondLove Sovano Alvin Daniel L. Oronce Worship Ian Ga having Kevzii and blurred . A rebuilt Oasis Gaming Oasis Gaming Asia-Pacific Rank #35 Zeus slathom999 Shawn Dale Bolondro astr0 Franz del Rosario tesseract Jon Michael Piga marky Mark Anthony Tuling mixed their existing roster with former RRQ players Draxi and Nexi with xavi8k and Georggyyy last seen in Ala Kami Org Ala Kami Org Inactive Karl Carlo Ocampo modeskiii Matthew Bautista xfaded . All mentioned teams were invited to 2023, with the addition of Stream Raiders Nacague Stream Raiders Nacague Asia-Pacific Rank #77 Shintaro Mark Daryl Timbang Corpuz Worship Ian Ga ABATMAN Franc Lenard Meija , who have made themselves known during the many OFF//SEASON events in the Pacific region.

The last four slots were all from the open qualifiers, which saw four new teams joining the VCL; Puggers Puggers Inactive Lostboy Chongi Walk on Waters SecondLove SyKo Blixerino , GameLab Alpha GameLab Alpha Inactive Boogeyyy Khiloy Azucena LoyDreaM , Abaddon Abyss Abaddon Abyss Inactive HydraKid Matthew Lance M. Padios vblack Alfi Angelo O. Lua slathom999 Shawn Dale Bolondro Rababz Abdul Rafi P. Biyala Asta Kurt Stanley Laurido exotic John Danlee C. Mag-Aso , and Sky Empire Sky Empire Inactive Aryu Philip Vergara d1srupt Nereus Lico Rabbet Francis Danison Buñag kellyS Kelly Sedillo eugeneS Eugene Serrano who are filled with veterans who had experience on the main stage.

A list of the VCL PH teams Image by Riot Games/Mineski Philippines

VCL Thailand

In a familiar vein across the SEA Challengers Leagues, Thailand saw a massive roster shift mainly due to the old XERXIA Esports XERXIA Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #26 core moving to TALON TALON Asia-Pacific Rank #10 Crws Thanamethk Mahatthananuyut JitBoyS Jittana Nokngam primmie Papaphat Sriprapha and many of their previous main stage teams disbanding. XERXIA retained star duelist Surf and brought in players from various Thai teams alongside a Japanese import in LBY , last seen playing for EVA:e EVA:e Inactive Paint Ryuya Sasaki dream3r Maxim Kudashev KuuKai Daichi Lumo Maxim Demianovskikh . With the old FW Esports FW Esports Inactive Geniuss jazper notxd Thanachok Rattanapranee Marjes roster parted ways, many of its players found a new home in FULL SENSE FULL SENSE Asia-Pacific Rank #1 Leviathan Thanyathon Nakmee Laz Kittikawin Jirawatkakan Killua Tanate Teerasawad seph1roth Chinnakrit Phoojaroen Potter Sutthichai Promsrikaew , who only retained JohnOlsen and THEELOVEFAMILY . SantaGolf and LAMMYSNAX joined a rebuilt Attack All Around Attack All Around Inactive xcool3 Nuttadet Wijit AloNeFillz Palapoom Thaikum kongared Nantapol Boonying niffy Patcharapon Junman b3ta Puwadon Jaisuekul SantaGolf Chanitpak Suwanaprateep while PTC joined Made in Thailand Made in Thailand Inactive Kadoom Kantapong Kingthong Killua Tanate Teerasawad cgrs Patiphan Porsi Laz Kittikawin Jirawatkakan seph1roth Chinnakrit Phoojaroen .

Meanwhile, from the open qualifiers, there were not many surprises, with Team NKT Team NKT Asia-Pacific Rank #14 ArPoom Rujipoom Changkrut socools0da Natdanai Chaibun D4rf Wayu Phantakerngamorn aLerT Wattanachok Yingnakorn and Sharper Esport Sharper Esport Asia-Pacific Rank #46 niffy Patcharapon Junman LBY Eisuke Kuraoka qq Phoomphat Phodjanat Siraww Siraphop Honghirun Kadoom Kantapong Kingthong returning while Gelida Esports Gelida Esports Inactive aRThiT r3ason porsche tarzip QqizSaBook , after failing to qualify for the main stage with their old roster, picked up TBA TBA Inactive LoRangeZ Phanthaphat Yaowasakunmat CheR0Z socools0da Natdanai Chaibun ArPoom Rujipoom Changkrut slash . Thailand Attitude Thailand Attitude Inactive umaruchans Delend Thanaboon Tungsupsati Aowha ALLR1GHTT returns to the VCL after a two-year absence.

A list of the VCL TH teams Image by Riot Games/ESL Thailand

VCL Vietnam

Vietnam is the latest to finalize their main stage teams out of all SEA Challengers Leagues. Having the least amount of invites of two teams, Fancy United Esports Fancy United Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #12 YESicaN Đinh Đình Đạt 16Ch0ps Nguyễn Đức Trí Tín Crus Lư Tiến Huy Hyuse Nia twilight and Team Big BAAM Team Big BAAM Asia-Pacific Rank #27 invisible LilHieu Lưu Chí Hiếu KimHung2k5 , Vietnam undertook a different approach to their search for the last six teams.

VNG Games (Vietnam's organizer) held a three-week open qualifier circuit with monetary incentives dubbed Rising Stars. Instead of going through with one or two stages of open qualifiers, Rising Stars held a hybrid single/double-elimination bracket that would qualify two teams from each week. Many of the teams are new, but most of the players have VCL experiences. Week 1 had Tim Tài Trơ Tim Tài Trơ Inactive Redneval Le Quốc Khánh viness Nguyễn Trung Tín Juu Trần Thái Vỹ KeA Nguyễn Anh Minh Thông BOSS and Rapid Lofi Rapid Lofi Inactive TRIPCIEW Vữ Minh Cường albus Trần Phúc Thiên Pr0digy gin Phan Văn Gin going through, Week 2 had Mekong Gaming Mekong Gaming Inactive Ko0 Nguyễn Công Minh Brownie Phan Kiều Xuân Phan Tuna Nguyễn Bá Anh Tuấn Mowff Trần Đức Minh Son Keke Vũ Thượng Toàn Tu KeKe Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Tú and TwoKay TwoKay Inactive vers4ce Lê Nguyễn Gia Bảo Kong Nguyễn Nguyên Đăng Juu Trần Thái Vỹ qualifying for the main stage, and Week 3 had LAZY LAZY Asia-Pacific Rank #49 BMV Bùi Minh Vũ moefcute Dương Phúc Hiếu Akashi Châu Hoàn Thiện Nhân Louboutin Hyzee Võ Nhựt Huy and VICTORY VICTORY Inactive TRIPCIEW Vữ Minh Cường rounding out the eight teams.

A list of the VCL TH teams Image by Riot Games/VNG Games

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia saw a stream of new, upcoming teams and talents while having experienced teams retaining most of their status quo from previous seasons. However, like the East Asian Challengers Leagues, there is a shift of balance that might shake them.

Malaysia/Singapore had just started their regular season split, with teams such as Louvre, Todak, X10, and BLEED vying for the top, having won their first games.

As Indonesia heads into a short break due to the 2023 Southeast Asian Games national selection process, BOOM Esports picked up where they have left off, remaining the only undefeated team and leading the table with two wins, with Dewa United, ARF, and Bigetron not far behind.

Oasis Gaming shows so far why they should be considered favorites in the Philippines, having amassed three wins to top the table. However, newcomers Gamelab Alpha also remains lossless with two wins. Lastly, Made in Thailand shows why they are the champion of the offseason, leading the table with three wins; Sharper also has the same record.

Vietnam's regular season will start on February 7 and will last until March 12.

Much like in other regions, the five Southeast Asian VCLs alongside VCL Oceania, the three East Asian VCLs, and VCL South Asia for a 10-team Pacific Ascension tournament this Summer. The winner will get a two-year admission pass for the VCT Pacific League.