Talon Esports has announced that its Valorant roster for VCT 2023 will feature Patiphan ‘Patiphan’ Chaiwong, who had left the game to return to Overwatch competition.
The announcement marks Patiphan’s return to Valorant almost a year after he left Riot Games’ FPS title to compete again in Overwatch, the game where he took his first competitive steps.
The Thai player began his esports career in Overwatch as a 15-year-old and notably competed for his country in the Overwatch World Cup. He also played for Talon Esports and Eternal Academy before making the jump to Valorant in 2020.
Patiphan quickly made a name for himself in the game as part of X10 Crit (formerly X10 Esports), helping the team to appearances at VCT Masters Iceland and Valorant Champions 2021. At the event in Berlin, X10 Crit managed to reach the playoffs before losing to Gambit Esports.
Patiphan would retire from Valorant in December 2021 to return to Overwatch with a spot in an Overwatch League team. The young player has stepped away from competition multiple times due to wrist injuries, but his reason for leaving OWL was not specified in his retirement announcement. In his one year in the OWL, the Thai player helped the Los Angeles Gladiators win the Kickoff Clash and Midseason Madness tournaments.
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Patiphan rejoins former X10 teammates
Joining Patiphan on the new Talon roster are three of his former teammates from his time on X10 Crit: Thanamethk ‘Crws’ Mahatthananuyut, Itthirit ‘foxz’ Ngamsaard and Panyawat ‘sushiboys’ Subsiriroj. At the beginning of 2022, the trio moved on from X10 Crit and joined Xerxia Esports, with whom they qualified for all three international Valorant tournaments held this year.
Also joining the team are Jittana ‘JitboyS’ Nokngam and Apiwat ‘garnetS’ Apiraksukumal. JitboyS played for FW Esports in 2021 and 2022, while garnetS competed with X10 and 47 Gaming in 2022. The full Thai squad will be coached by In ‘Creative’ Moo-keun.
The new squad will showcase its talent against the rest of the VCT field in February when they take on the other 29 partnered teams at the VCT Kickoff Tournament in São Paulo, Brazil.