The most successful Japanese Valorant team, Crazy Raccoon, just dropped the majority of their roster following the unimpressive results from their last Valorant Champions run. They have been the ruling team in the Japanese region, sitting comfy at the first place in the VCT 2021 – Japan Circuit Point Standings with 475 points.
Despite some impressive regional performance, they failed to achieve any significant results in the VCT LAN events. Thus, the organisation has now dropped the majority of their roster, with the only remaining member being Yusuke “neth” Matsuda. With such a short time before the next VCT season begins, it is uncertain whether Crazy Raccoon will manage to assemble a team to compete right from the start.
The Passionate Crazy Raccoon Fans
Whether Crazy Raccoon will continue competing in the second Valorant Champions Tour season is still unknown. But it’s highly unlikely they would simply give up after a few tournaments where they came short.
Their fans are some of the most passionate Valorant fans the world has seen yet. This was especially clear during the VCT 2021: Stage 3 Masters – Berlin where even the casters went all in and were fully immersed into the matches.
It’s hard to imagine Crazy Raccoon abandoning their fans now, so we can hope they’ll recover soon and announce a new roster for VCT 2022.
Back to the Drawing Board
Crazy Raccoon were eliminated in the group stage on both occasions in Berlin, first during VCT 2021: Stage 3 Masters – Berlin and then during VALORANT Champions 2021. And to their misfortune, they ended up facing Gambit Esports both times. Gambit is currently one of the strongest squads in Valorant, so getting them this early immediately spelled doom for the team.
All things considered, Crazy Raccoon put up a great fight and they left home with their heads held up high.
But, as is usually the case in Valorant, when something doesn’t work the usual approach is to start from scratch. This is exactly what Crazy Raccoon will be doing now. With no established roster and one remaining player, they’ll not only have to get an extra four players but also one or even two coaches.
This could prove to be a difficult task to achieve in such a short period of time before the start of VCT 2022. Worst case scenario, they’ll end up delaying their entry and will join a bit later into the season. They’ve conquered their region once and they can do it again, but the more important task is to qualify for the LAN events. So the sooner they recover, the better.
Time is Running Out
The reason it’s more important to start the next VCT season as early as possible is because this year’s Valorant esports format is much more condensed. There’s just two Masters and two Challengers tournaments, and it all ends in September and not December.
So that’s already tricky enough, but then you have to consider just how many great teams are competing in Valorant right now, especially compared to the early 2021. It’s going to be quite a challenge to qualify for the major tournaments now.
Crazy Raccoon is sitting in a tough spot right now, but this could prove to be a blessing in disguise. Without any previous ties, they can reform a brand new team and set some higher goals. The time is perfect to reinvent themselves and set their sights on the big LAN stage.
We’ll have to wait and see what will happen, but we expect them to come out with more news pretty soon. We can’t wait to see who they’ll bring on board this time.
