The VALORANT transfer market is on fire. Every day, we hear about new signings in different leagues worldwide. Recently, we have learned about the signing of Yay by Bleed Esports.
Yay joins the Bleed Esports team
It’s official: one of VALORANT’s biggest stars is moving to the other side of the world for a new start in esports. Jaccob “Yay” Whiteaker is going to a new region to play with a new team in the top tier of VCT.
Yesterday, Bleed Esports made the official announcement of Yay’s signing. The American player has signed a two-year contract with the Singapure-based organization. The talented American player and winner of the Masters Reykjavik 2022 tournament will now be competing in a different region. Yay, he will fight in the VCT Pacific, where he will have to face teams like ZETA DIVISION, Paper Rex, and DRX, among others. It is important to note that this is not the first player to play in Asia after playing in the North American league.
The devil has a new home and he goes by the nickname….El Diablo. 👹
Welcome, BLEED @yay. 🩸#GOBLEED #Valorant pic.twitter.com/ra7NVCpTfY
— Bleed Esports (@ggBleed) September 29, 2023
New start for Yay
Yay’s signing by Bleed Esports signifies a new beginning for the player. Yay has stated that Asia’s peculiar gaming culture has piqued his interest. The player highlights that the style of play in APAC is famous for its aggressiveness. On the other hand, he has commented that players don’t mind taking risks in every round and can train very well, thanks to that. Players in this region are always attentive to each VALORANT agent’s mechanics.
On the other hand, Yay said that moving to Singapore and the Pacific area seems to be the right thing to do. At the same time, the player said he wants to escape all the financial drama in North America. Although Yay’s monthly salary figures have never been disclosed, sources claim that while working with Cloud9, he earned around $60K monthly. However, many VALORANT teams in North America are cutting player salaries. One of the teams that has received the most criticism for this issue is Evil Geniuses, which has cut the salaries of all its players after winning the most important VALORANT tournament.
At the same time, Yay says he is very happy to be in a much more welcoming environment and away from the drama of previous teams. On the other hand, Yay comments that he does not expect to win championships right away as he needs to adapt to this new style of play.
Bleed Esports fans were waiting for Yay’s arrival on the team
Importantly, the official announcement of Yay’s signing confirms the rumors and speculation of the past few days. Bleed Esports fans were convinced Yay was the player behind “zommy,” who formed a duo with Derrick “Deryeon” Yee. For his part, Yay has commented that it was hard to avoid being recognized by the public. Therefore, the player avoided using voice chat because people in Singapore could recognize his voice in the qualifying games.