TALON Esports will no longer be in the VCT Pacific and LCP leagues after “a pattern of delayed payments to players,” Riot says.
TALON Esports has been terminated from both the VCT Pacific and the League of Legends Champion Pacific (LCP) leagues after the organization was unable to display "sufficient financial capacity." Riot's statement also revealed that the org was unable to pay its players on time, among other money-related issues.
TALON no longer in VCT Pacific and LCP
A statement was simultaneously released on the official VALORANT Esports and LoL Esports websites, breaking the news. Both leagues' partnership with Talon Esports is considered terminated from here on.
"After being made aware of delayed payments to players and other financial issues, Riot Games worked closely with TALON for over a month, and even granted extensions to allow TALON to demonstrate material improvement, but TALON was ultimately unable to meet the standards required to continue as a partner in the VCT," the statement read.
Despite all this, Talon was unable to manage and operate its teams. They failed to meet league standards: repeated delayed payments to players and an "inability to demonstrate financial capacity" were stated as examples.
Players from Talon's VALORANT and League of Legends squad are "allowed to explore other opportunities within our esports ecosystem," said Riot Games. They are now also exploring replacement teams to fill the slots that Talon will vacate in both leagues.
The organization is yet to release an official statement.
Talon in the LCP
Talon's LoL squad was known as PSG Talon, thanks to their partnership with Paris Saint-Germain. They were a dominant force in the Pacific League of Legends scene during the PCS days. They remained relevant even during the era of CTBC Flying Oysters, and they still make appearances in international events including this year's Worlds. However, they could no longer match the results of their glory days, which peaked with a 3rd-4th finish in MSI 2021.
As this League roster gets released, some of the best talent in the region is now hot commodity. Particularly, jungler Hung "Karsa" Hau-hsuan - any team to pick him up will most likely end up with an upgrade.
Talon's VCT Pacific journey
They were a middling team in the VCT, with little international presence. They only had two appearances outside of VCT Pacific under their belt: LOCK//IN 2023 in São Paulo and Champions 2024 in Seoul. In the former event, they finished 5th-8th, while their Champs run ended in 13th-16th.
The team occasionally had some great talent. Standout names who wore TALON's livery in the past include Papaphat "Primmie" Sriprapha, who is now a free agent, Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza, who recently won Masters Toronto with Paper Rex, and ex-OWL player Patiphan "Patiphan" Chaiwong, who now competes in professional Apex Legends.
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