BLEED Esports, yay’s organization, cited “health reasons” as the primary factor behind his decision and pledged full support for the 25-year-old star.

This is the second hiatus yay has taken since joining BLEED Esports in September 2023.

His first break occurred just before the VALORANT ONE Pro Invitational due to “unforeseen health issues.”

Ian Huston, BLEED’s Chief Operating Officer, emphasized the organization’s commitment to health and wellness, expressing support for yay’s recovery on X (formerly Twitter).

After concluding the first split, yay has decided to take a temporary break for health reasons before coming back to competing.

We fully support his decision to prioritize his wellness and we're all excited for more yay once he's back in the zone.

Till then, rest up, @yay!�� pic.twitter.com/GbR9sJtKaT

— BLEED Esports (@ggBleed) May 13, 2024

Yay’s recent decision comes in the wake of BLEED’s disappointing performance in VALORANT Champions Tour Pacific’s first split.

The team managed only one win against DetonatioN FocusMe while losing five series, including matches against Paper Rex and DRX.

This sole victory was yay’s first competitive win since leaving Cloud9 in the 2023 season, briefly reigniting fans’ hopes before subsequent defeats.

Adding to the turmoil, yay was embroiled in a controversy involving retired pro Amgalan “Genghsta” Nemekhbayar, who accused yay of being a difficult teammate and bribing coach OCEAN during their time at Disguised (DSG).

Genghsta alleged on social media that yay paid the coach $10,000 to bench him.

Yay has not responded publicly to these accusations.

In February, yay revealed he had been dealing with blurry vision, which he claimed affected his performance during a crucial match against Global Esports at the VCT Pacific Kickoff.

The latest announcement from BLEED Esports did not specify if this health issue persists.

BLEED Esports, now one player short, is reportedly moving Crazyguy to the active roster to fill the gap left by yay’s departure.

Fans had high expectations for BLEED Esports after their qualification for the VCT Pacific following a successful Ascension in 2023.

However, with the team’s struggles and yay’s absence, the organization’s plans have been significantly disrupted as they prepare for the second split of the season.

Yay has yet to make any official comments regarding his break.

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The involved parties agreed to sign a release that terminated the contract binding yay to the organization. Max “purest” Katz first released the information online via Twitter.

Dot Esports published a report a few days after purest’s tweet, confirming that yay was leaving the North American team. Although neither party has said anything to confirm or refute the news, yay took out the organization’s branding from his social media bio.

Although it is not clear if the player is joking, yay wrote that he was signed to Moist Esports on his Twitter bio. Due to his reputation as one of the best players in Valorant, Moist Esports, which recently entered the Valorant scene, would likely love to have him on board.

Yay started his career in Valorant in September 2020 after signing with Andbox, and by August 2021, he had moved to Envy. The team’s roster secured a second-place finish at VCT Masters Berlin 2021 and a top 12 at Valorant Champions 2021.

After Envy and OpTic Gaming merged, the entire roster became a part of the latter team. The squad won two VCT Masters Reykjavik events in 2022 and reached top-three finishes in the Masters Copenhagen and Champions. Their performance made them one of the best Valorant squads in the history of VCT.

Yay and the rest of the team had to leave OpTic after the VCT partnership system was announced last year, leading the player to Cloud9 in October 2022. He signed on to the team with Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro and head coach Matthew “mCe” Elmore. The kinds of players on the lineup branded Cloud9 a super team and heightened the expectation surrounding them.

The NA organization had a great start during the VCT LOCK//IN, securing a 2-0 win over Paper Rex; however, they were knocked out by Korean lineup DRX. Yay was the only player that reached a net-positive kill differential on the team during the game with DRX. He was with Cloud9 for just five months.

VCT squads interested in shaking up their rosters can do so during the mid-season transfer window. This starts after the conclusion of the VCT LOCK//IN and will likely be when organizations try to sign yay.

Cloud9 are expected to begin plans for finding a new player to fill yay’s spot next week. The organization did not have any planned roster changes at the time of publication. With yay gone, the current lineup includes Nathan “leaf” Orf, Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, Erick “Xeppaa” Bach, and Zellsis.

Former OpTic Gaming star Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen is reportedly one of the likely candidates for the trial. The player is one of few gamers without a buyout due to his release from OpTic. Marved has not played professional VALORANT since 2022.

Cloud9 are the first major organization to make changes to their Valorant roster this year, doing so before the conclusion of the first international event of the season. They are one of the five NA squads slated to participate in the VCT Americas region international league, which will kick off on March 26.

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