VALORANT off-season opens with Wo0t, Meteor and keiko all on the move

Team Heretics have confirmed the departure of duelist Mert "Wo0t" Alkan, the first of several VALORANT exits to land in the week since Champions finished, according to Esports.net News.

The club announced the move on X on 21 October, thanking Wo0t for "the three years we've shared" since he joined in October 2023 as part of a roster rebuild.

Esports.net News reports that his Heretics career included six international appearances, an EMEA title and an Esports World Cup trophy, and that he topped the kill count at Masters Shanghai 2024 with 427 kills as the team finished runner-up there.

With Koshmaras and Boo also having left the organisation, only benjyfishy and RieNs remain from the active roster, and both of their deals expire on 2 November, leaving Heretics needing to fill three spots.

In Korea, Kim "Meteor" Tae-oh has said he is looking for a new team in Korea, Japan or China once his T1 contract runs out on the same date, writing that he wants to "join the team that needs me and the team that is striving for victory," per his statement carried by Esports.net News.

Stax, Munchkin and BuZz are also out of contract at T1 on 2 November, according to VLR.gg figures cited in the report.

Meteor's record in VCT Pacific is among the strongest in the region: he won Masters Shanghai 2024 with Gen.G, the first international title for the Pacific league, then took Masters Bangkok 2025 with T1 as tournament MVP.

His two seasons at T1 closed with a 5th-to-6th-place finish at Champions, the organisation's best result at the event to date.

In the Americas, Georgio "keiko" Sanassy has confirmed his run at NRG will last just one season, posting on X that "NRG have informed me that I will not be continuing with them next year."

He added that the club is allowing him to test the market as a restricted free agent, meaning any interested team would still need to negotiate with NRG despite his contract status, since the deal technically keeps him tied to the organisation.

Before NRG, keiko spent two seasons at Team Liquid, and across NRG's three international appearances he played duelist, controller and sentinel roles, underlining his versatility for any side weighing up a move for him.

The player departures have not been limited to rosters. Esports.net News notes that balax left LOUD after working as an analyst on the staff that won this year's Champions title.

All of these moves fall ahead of 2 November, the date VCT free agency opens and when a large block of contracts listed in Riot's VCT Global Contract Database are due to expire.

With Heretics, T1 and NRG all needing to rebuild parts of their rosters, and more deals set to lapse on the same day, the lead-up to free agency is expected to bring a concentrated run of confirmed signings as organisations finalise plans for the 2027 season.