If you can’t beat ’em: Egoist joins BLEED after losing to them for VALORANT Ascension

With the ever-shifting of tier-one and tier-two VALORANT and all the uncertainties around the franchising slots, players need a short memory, especially if the team offering you a spot in franchising is the same one you lost to in the Ascension Finals.

Former Paper Rex and X10 Esports player Javier “Egoist” Chua has signed with recently ascended BLEED, with the team only needing one more player for a full roster heading into the 2024 season. Considering the talent BLEED already had from their regional dominance across 2022 and 2023, Egoist adds both flexibility and talent heading into their first foray into tier-one VALORANT.

If there is a team that Egoist knows besides the ones he played on, it is BLEED. In back-to-back splits in the Malaysian and Singaporean region, BLEED swept X10 Esports 3-0 to earn their crown. Ascension was on the line in the second split, and X10 proved to be the last regional line of defense. Alas, it was a fruitless effort, as they got swept to lose their chance in Ascension.

Egoist made his mark on X10 and across tier-two VALORANT with his clutch factor. His stats are above average across the board in his region. Then, you look at his clutch stats for Split 2, the same one that he lost out on Ascension: In 97 clutch scenarios, he won a league-leading 22 of them. That’s a 22.7 percent clutch percentage, which is the best rate regionally in this regard. 

This makes sense considering his role, most notably playing the Sentinel role and agents like Killjoy and Cypher. Those are usually the ones that are the last line of defense, no matter which side they’re playing on. While his other stats are not outstanding, his consistency with his team matters. Where BLEED were the best regional team, X10 was always up there alongside them despite always falling short to them.

Looking back, Egoist has always been on great teams but struggled to win the biggest games. Back in 2021, before his break, he also consistently finished in second place with Team SMG, losing to teams like Paper Rex and X10 when they were on the rise. Now, he’s got the opportunity to prove that he can compete against Pacific tier-one competition. It might be with former enemies, but he’s got to turn them into friends quickly if BLEED want to continue their stretch as a successful VALORANT team.