With the end of Split 2 in the Pacific Challengers Leagues, familiar faces and upcoming talent alike have secured the titles of their regional leagues and will soon gather in Tokyo for Pacific Ascension.

Ascension is a high-stakes tournament where Challengers teams compete to claim the ultimate prize: a two-year slot in VCT. Last year, BLEED BLEED Asia-Pacific Rank #22 dominated the competition to become the first Pacific Ascension winner.

Now, the ten Challengers champions across APAC will compete for a place in VCT Pacific. Qualified teams will be divided into two groups of five, with the top three in each clinching a spot in the single-elimination playoffs. The top seeds will be given a bye to the semifinals, while the remaining teams will begin in the quarterfinals.

Challengers League South Asia: Revenant Esports

The first team to secure a spot at Ascension Tokyo was Revenant Esports Revenant Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #11 SkRossi Ganesh Gangadhar skillZ Jayanth Ramesh tricky Prish Valvani Paradox Kasif Sayyed . Revenant fell short in Split 1, ending third and top four in the Cup #1 and #2 playoffs, respectively. With the addition of sultan before Split 2, the team saw revitalized success with a 3-0 group stage record. This form continued into playoffs, where the team was crowned champions after a 3-0 victory against True Rippers True Rippers Asia-Pacific Rank #115 Ri0 Atharv Ahire Marcai BatmaN R0meo WAT Lewis Watson RvK Rishi Vijayakumar . In fact, the team only dropped a single map in playoffs, which was against True Rippers in the Upper Final.

Revenant players dos9 and sultan ended Split 2 as the first and second highest-rated players. Former Global Esports player SkRossi , seeking redemption and a chance to return to VCT Pacific, closely followed at fifth.

Challengers League Oceania: JFT

In a similar story to Revenant, Justice For Tomorrow Justice For Tomorrow Inactive kiss murza RAMEN IKANA ANDY overcame the odds to become Oceania's Ascension representative. After an early loss in the Split 1 playoffs, they made a lower bracket run to third place, eventually losing to Arena Internet Cafe Arena Internet Cafe Oceania Rank #1 FETA Cameron Gill Zauqk KADIRI Sinaway Norshin Yawanis BiggieCheese Aidan Gill , the team that bested them in the upper quarterfinals. JFT had a rocky Split 2 group performance, ending with a 3-2 record. However, the new additions murza and ANDY , who joined the roster during Split 2, proved to be the difference makers in playoffs. JFT won the grand final through the upper bracket in a 3-1 win over Arena Internet Cafe, led by a dominant performance from ANDY and murza, each registering greater than a 1.24 rating in the series. IKANA also had an excellent playoffs, averaging a 1.2 rating in the tournament.

Challengers League Taiwan/Hong Kong: Oblivion Force

Oblivion Force Oblivion Force Asia-Pacific Rank #12 riyabtw ckuma CHAK CHIMEI Wong Chun Wai (王俊煒) Kiuuuu Yung Tsz Kiu (容子翘) overcome their rivals, ONE Team Esports ONE Team Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #10 YanLi Rainy Li Guo-Shuo (李國碩) ngk XyuS SecreT KiNo , to make their Ascension debut. Oblivion dominated the Split 1 group stage, including a 2-1 win over last year's HK/TW winner ONE Team Esports. However, they failed to replicate their success in the playoffs, losing twice to ONE and placing second. After adding riyabtw and Uta to Oblivion's roster, they reproduced their group stage in Split 2 success with another 7-0 record. Despite being upset by Team Kobolds Team Kobolds Inactive BE 123 Chintu Orgil Answerz in the upper semifinal, they successfully completed the lower bracket run, finally defeating ONE Team Esports in playoffs and qualifying for Ascension Tokyo. New additions Uta and riyabtw proved crucial to Oblivion's success, ending first and fourth in Split 2 rating.

Challengers League Malaysia/Singapore: Disguised

Fan favorites Disguised Disguised Asia-Pacific Rank #6 Vera Rodman Yap STYRON Tidus Goh crazyguy Ngô Công Anh Deryeon Derrick Yee wayne Wayne Chang faced lofty expectations heading into Split 1. The organization, which competed in North America last year, had moved to the Malaysia/Singapore league, home of last year's Ascension winners. Disguised put together a strong roster, including Juicy , who won Ascension last year with Bleed but couldn't compete in VCT due to age restrictions.

Despite the team's on-paper strength, DSG struggled throughout Split 1, finishing third in playoffs after a 3-0 loss to ORGLESS ORGLESS Inactive dzii Daven Cheong RedKoh Danial Hakim Flaring Henri Forichon . Heading into Split 2, the team overhauled its roster, bringing in three new players. These changes proved successful as DSG placed second in the group stage and advanced to the grand final through the upper bracket. In the champion-crowing match, they faced Reve Drift Arena Reve Drift Arena Inactive markL Mark Lester subbey Shamir Aliff theDoctorr Mathanraj Munisparan Fixy Amirul Zaqwan bin Norfarulizal jans0n Janson Chen Joon Er , who had beaten DSG earlier in the group stage. Nevertheless, Disgused won 3-0, coming back from a 4-8 half on map 3. wayne and grumble , a new addition in Split 2, topped the tournament rating.

Now, Disguised has qualified for Ascension Tokyo, where Juicy can make history by becoming the first player to win back-to-back Pacific Ascension tournaments.

Challengers League Indonesia: BOOM Esports

After winning the APAC Last Chance Qualifier in 2022, 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 qualified for Champions Istanbul. Now, they have the chance to return to VCT again.

Boom was the first team to qualify for the Ascension Tokyo that also qualified for last year's Ascension. Despite a decent showing in the group stage, Boom lost to the tournament-winners BLEED in the Semifinal.

Boom ended the Split 1 group stage with a flawless 5-0 record but lost to Alter Ego Alter Ego Asia-Pacific Rank #8 Nakya Alehandro Fabian Simanjorang Cud Thomas Alfiantino ray4c Rayvaldo Chandra ValdyN Rivaldy Nafian gotten Davin twice in playoffs — in the upper final and grand final — finishing second. Ahead of Split 2, Boom added ZesBeeW to their roster, whose strong performance contributed to another flawless group stage record. However, once again, Boom was bested by Alter Ego in playoffs, dropping to the lower bracket. After a dominant lower bracket run, Boom rematched Alter Ego in the grand final and won 3-2, achieving their first playoff victory against AE in 2024. Famouz , Shiro , and ZesBeeW were all standout players in Split 2, ranking first, second, and third in rating.

Challengers League Thailand: Full Sense

After a close 3-1 loss to XERXIA Esports XERXIA Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #29 b3ta Puwadon Jaisuekul Siraww Siraphop Honghirun bnwgiggs last year, Full Sense barely missed out on Ascension. Now, with an upgraded roster and a commanding 3-1 victory over rivals Made in Thailand Made in Thailand Asia-Pacific Rank #3 Kadoom Kantapong Kingthong Killua Tanate Teerasawad cgrs Patiphan Porsi Laz Kittikawin Jirawatkakan seph1roth Chinnakrit Phoojaroen , Full Sense is ready for their Ascension debut in Tokyo and earn a slot in VCT Pacific.

Full Sense started Split 1 strong with an undefeated 7-0 group stage and a decisive 3-0 win over MiTH in playoffs. They continued their strong form with another 7-0 group stage but faltered in the Split 2 playoffs, placing second after a 3-1 loss to rivals MiTH. Regardless, they still remained a favorite for the Thailand Challengers League title after qualifying for the LAN Ascension Qualifier Series on circuit points. However, after being trounced by MiTH in the upper final, it seemed Full Sense would narrowly miss out on Ascension again. Nevertheless, Full Sense shook off their loss and won the grand final in a decisive 3-1 victory over MiTH. PTC and foxz , a former Xerxia player who played at Champions 2021 and 2022, finished third and fourth in the tournament by rating.

foxz at Reykjavik 2021 foxz at Reykjavik 2021, VCT's first international event. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

Challengers League Vietnam: Rapid Lofi

Rapid Lofi Rapid Lofi Asia-Pacific Rank #21 DaFt Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt TRIPCIEW Vữ Minh Cường albus Trần Phúc Thiên Pr0digy Suka Nguyễn Văn Tiến gin Phan Văn Gin BánhMj wins a massive upset to qualify for Ascension. RLF began the Stage 1 Swiss stage with a 2-0 loss to Fancy United Esports Fancy United Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #15 YESicaN Đinh Đình Đạt foxy Crus Lư Tiến Huy tok1o Nia twilight , the previous year's Ascension attendee. After two consecutive wins, RLF qualified for playoffs and placed third following losses to Fancy United and Team Flash Team Flash Asia-Pacific Rank #14 Mihlog Tô Minh Long bucute K1LLERS Nguyễn Văn Thiện ting2k5 Dường Mạnh Thắng alyaL Hoàng Đức Hùng d0rf Phạm Huỳnh Toàn Quốc . Bolstering their roster with two new additions, RLF again lost their Split 2 opener to FCY but still qualified for playoffs with a 2-1 Swiss stage record. They began playoffs with an upset against Team Flash and advanced to the upper final, losing to FCY. After a narrow victory in the LBF, they faced Fancy United in the grand final, who they had a 1-8 map record against all year. Against all odds, Rapid Lofi upset Fancy United in a 3-1 win and punched their ticket to Ascension Tokyo.

Challengers League Philippines: NAOS

After a map-five, overtime victory against ZOL Esports ZOL Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #13 PatMen Patrick Mendoza ZYND Christian Lopez jEEE Emmanuel Jonathan Buenavidez Kakarot Oscar Farin Jr. Kevzii Franz Kevin Dingal , NAOS NAOS Asia-Pacific Rank #4 xavi8k Xavier Juan JA John Timothy Arone Mojer Jerome Literal Emman Emmanuel Morales Nexi Nathaniel Cabero return to Ascension. Last year, NAOS made an impressive run at Ascension, topping their group and reaching the semifinal before losing to SCARZ.

NAOS began Split 1 strong with an 8-1 group stage record and finished second in playoffs after a grand final loss to ZOL. Maintaining the same roster, they again finished with an 8-1 record in Split 2 groups. They advanced to the grand final through the upper bracket where they faced rivals ZOL, who they had a 2-2 series record against in 2024. In a nail-biting best of five, an overtime win on Ascent, the fifth map of the series, secured NAOS' second Ascension qualification. NAOS duelist Mojer had 110 kills in the series, and Papi ended Stage 2 with the ranked first by rating.

Ascension

Ascension will begin on September 14. Qualified teams will be divided into two groups of five, with the top three in each clinching a spot in the single-elimination playoffs. The top seeds will be given a bye to the semifinals, while the remaining teams will begin in the quarterfinals. The groups have not yet been announced.

The teams currently qualified for Ascension are: