"Denied into the partnership program": Valorant clutch machine, OpTic yay, is now a restricted free agent for VCT 2023

A recent announcement from Riot Games regarding the 2023 Valorant Partnership Program has broken up some of the shooter's biggest rosters, including OpTic Gaming. Like his teammates Victor, FNS, and crashies, yay has become a restricted free agent and is willing to join a partnered team.

The upcoming VCT 2023 season will host 30 teams in international leagues spanning across three territories, namely the Americas, Pacific, and EMEA. Each of these teams are now deemed partners of Riot Games and will be working with the company to make the esports experience better. An official statement made it clear that past competitive performances were not a key factor in the selection process. Unfortunately, OpTiC Gaming, alongside several other organizations, were unable to make the cut for the program.

---

OpTic yay is willing to join a partnered Valorant team from North America and EMEA

By many in the community, Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker is regarded as the best player in Valorant esports. His performances in the erstwhile Valorant Champions 2022 and the entirety of VCT are well-known to fans across the world. Presently, the 'clutch machine' is considered to be one of the most valued athletes in Valorant’s competitive scene.

Due to OpTic Gaming’s exclusion from the partnership program, yay is now seeking better opportunities and has announced his willingness to join partnered teams from either North America or EMEA. His tweet read:

“With the recent news that @OpTic denied into the partnership program, I've been allowed to explore new opportunities as a restricted F/A. I am open to all partnership teams in both North America and EMEA.”

He also spoke about how OpTic Gaming’s contributions and beliefs helped him shape his Valorant career:

“Finally, I want to thank @OpTic for the opportunity to represent them. They took a chance on me early in my Val career and it has forever changed my life. They've been more than accommodating and it’s allowed me to grow into the player I am today.”

OpTic’s Marved, regarded as yay’s duo, replied to the aforementioned tweet, mentioning how he may or may not see yay on the battlefield.

The five teams from North America that made it into the partnership program are 100 Thieves, Sentinels, NRG, Evil Geniuses, and Cloud9. yay, crashies, Victor, and FNS could possibly join these teams, or move on to EMEA teams like Fnatic, Team Vitality, and more.

While crashies and Victor are looking forward to joining a partnered team together, FNS and yay are moving forward as singular athletes.

VCT 2023 will host its first ever tournament for partners in February. It will be held in São Paulo, a vibrant and populous city in Brazil. The kickoff tournament will pit all the partnered teams against one another, with the winner receiving a direct entry to Masters 2023.