ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #11 Absol Kazuki Fujinoki SyouTa Shota Aoki SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe eKo Yeom Wang-ryong (염왕룡) Xdll Yuto Mizomori had a lot to prove this year.

After Crazy Raccoon Crazy Raccoon Inactive failed to showcase Japan's potential in 2021, doubts were surrounding the region as a whole, as they were dubbed the weakest in the world by many.

ZETA DIVISION competed in Masters: Berlin and won Japan their first map on the international stage. However, that was all they did as they exited the group stage 0-2.

As such, they stepped back from APAC Last Chance Qualifier 2021 and overhauled their roster by signing stars from the Japanese scene, such as SugarZ3ro and TENNN from NORTHEPTION NORTHEPTION Japan Rank #5 , along with Dep from REJECT REJECT Japan Rank #13 Yoshiii John Yoshiharu Kawakami Dep Yuma Hashimoto hiroronn Hiroki Yanai Jremy Jeremy Cabrera Sota . Fans were optimistic that this revamped roster would be the chance to launch ZETA to the next level.

VCT Japan Stage 1: Challengers had all teams compete in two sets of open qualifiers. As such, ZETA breezed through open qualifiers, to playoffs, to the grand finals, where they dropped three maps, two of which were from Crazy Raccoon – including their 3-1 victory to secure their spot for Masters: Reykjavik.

Having usurped their rivals, ZETA DIVISION were ready to prove their mettle against the world's elite. In their group were Asian archrivals Kiwoom DRX Kiwoom DRX Korea Rank #3 Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) yong Kim Ho-yong (김호용) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) , EMEA's FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski CyvOph Clement Millard Veqaj Sylvain Pattyn Alfajer Emir Ali Beder , and a new challenger in Ninjas In Pyjamas Ninjas In Pyjamas Inactive . ZETA's first match was against DRX, and the Japanese squad was summarily destroyed, only winning five rounds. Now sent to the lower bracket, their next match was against the fearsome FNATIC, albeit without braveaf and star duelist Derke . ZETA ousted the EMEA squad 2-0, with NIP being the last team standing in their way for playoffs qualification. In a historic match, ZETA DIVISION came out on top and entered the playoffs for the region's first time.

Now high on their success, ZETA's first opponent for playoffs were G2 Esports G2 Esports Inactive , who were given a bye as the EMEA first-seed; ultimately, it was G2 who sent ZETA DIVISION to the lower bracket. Facing life or death, ZETA had to go on a miraculous run by winning every single match to the grand finals. It seemed like it was coming to fruition as the Japanese squad knocked out the third EMEA representative Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #4 purp0 Semyon Borchev wayne Wayne Chang MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin kamo Kamil Frąckowiak , APAC counterpart Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov , and exacted their revenge on DRX.

Their run brought ZETA one match away from the grand finals, with North American titans OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming Inactive being their final obstacle. The fairytale run came to an end as ZETA DIVISION placed third in Reykjavik, allocating enough points for Champions come August.

ZETA win celebration It was indeed a NICE! run. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

After such a showing, many people believed that ZETA would be a shoo-in for Masters: Copenhagen. As the winner of VCT Japan Stage 1, the roster was given a bye to Stage 2: Challengers Week 1; swift victories over REIGNITE REIGNITE Inactive and REJECT quickly catapulted ZETA DIVISION to the playoffs. The Japanese superteam blitzed their way to the grand finals, dropping zero maps. The final opponent standing in their way for another Masters appearance was NORTHEPTION, a team they steamrolled in the upper finals. In front of approximately 20,000 fans at the Saitama Arena, NORTHEPTION shocked everyone by winning against the Reykjavik bronze medalists, earning their spot for Masters: Copenhagen.

For ZETA DIVISION, a loss in front of adoring fans was heartbreaking, as they were the undisputed favorites for another Masters. Old doubts over Japan were coming back as NORTHEPTION narrowly missed out on playoffs, leaving many to wonder how much further ZETA would have gone had they qualified.

ZETA DIVISION
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⚡『2022 VALORANT Champions Tour - Champions』

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| #ZETAWIN '//, | #VALORANTChampions | #VCT |
6:59 AM · Aug 30, 2022 ·
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ZETA DIVISION are back at Champions, this time with a new face in Xdll .

A little over a month before Champions, ZETA DIVISION announced that TENNN would be on medical leave due to problems with his eye. As a result, the Japanese representatives acquired Xdll on loan from SCARZ SCARZ Japan Rank #8 Art Koki Kagami gray9 Gwangboong Kim Gwang-won (김광원) muto Medusa An Min-cheol (안민철) , a former player of BLUE BEES.ESP BLUE BEES.ESP Japan Rank #19 EscO keisu kuro Lafura : one of the victims of ZETA's run to the playoffs, as their fifth.

ZETA DIVISION have their toughest test ahead of them in Group B: facing old foes OpTic and APAC Last Chance Qualifier winner BOOM Esports BOOM Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #5 natz Jonathan Adiputra Nakya Alehandro Fabian Simanjorang d3ffo Nikita Sudakov Shiro Hildegard Arnaldo NcSlasher Sheldon Andersen Chandra . Their first match is against Brazilian behemoths LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #9 lukxo Lucca Travaioli Darker Sebastián Castro Cicuamia Virtyy Leandro Moreno erde Roberto Lobos cauanzin Cauan Pereira , as both teams try to bounce back from lackluster performances and get off to a hot start.

Many questions surround ZETA, given that it is unclear whether TENNN will return to the roster —although he is signed as a substitute, compounded by the doubts about whether the team has practiced their comps with Xdll as a suitable and serviceable replacement, and the fact that ZETA are in a vicious group with the top two teams from Masters: Reykjavik, as well as a potential darkhorse in BOOM.

Even with all the doubts, questions are meant to be answered, and ZETA DIVISION are ready to answer all of them.