Bleed Esports shocked the world when they signed former OPTIC Gaming and Cloud9 Star duelist Jake “yay” Whiteaker to their Valorant roster for VCT 2024. The fabled El Diablo once ruled atop the world of Valorant Esports with his mastery of Chamber, crushing all competition with his Operator.
However, after OPTIC Gaming failed to get franchised, the roster disbanded, and yay found his new home in Cloud9. Unfortunately for him, he had to part ways with C9 after a lackluster run at VCT Lock//IN São Paulo and had to watch the rest of the season from the sidelines.
Although El Diablo is back in active competition, fans might have to wait a little longer for his BLEED Esports debut. BLEED Esports will be participating in the Riot Games One Pro Invitational 2023 event in Japan but unfortunately, yay will not be on the roster.
Earlier on December 1st, the org announced via X that yay will not be playing this off-season event due to “unforeseen health-related issues”.
El Diablo apologized to his fans for his absence and encouraged them to support his team
“I’m sorry that I’m unable to attend this event. I know a lot of you were looking forward to me [playing] and the feeling is mutual. Japan has always held a place in my heart and it’s my #1 place to go to in the future. I hope you still will give the same love that you’ve given me to my team at Riot Games ONE.”
Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić will be replacing yay for the event. Apart from BLEED Esports, Riot ONE Pro Invitational 2023 features franchised teams like Na’Vi, Detonation FocusMe, and Zeta Division.
