Japanese initiator Souta “Aace” Ito is set to join Crazy Raccoon for the 2027 VCT Pacific season, according to a report by Sheep Esports on 8 November. The 20-year-old is a free agent after FENNEL confirmed on 4 November that he would leave the team when his contract expired. If the move goes through, it would make Aace the latest piece of a Crazy Raccoon roster being built around former DetonatioN FocusMe players. Crazy Raccoon has not announced the signing, and the player has not commented on the report.
The signing would be Aace’s first step into the top tier of VALORANT after three seasons in Challengers Japan. According to the report, he will reunite with Yu “akame” Gwang-hui and Ibuki “Meiy” Seki, two former DetonatioN FocusMe players. Kakeru “Vorz” Ikarashi, who also coached DFM, is expected to lead the team, and Sheep Esports had already reported that all three were set to join the club. Aace, Meiy and Vorz have also worked together recently in Japan’s national team.
How Crazy Raccoon got back into VCT Pacific
Crazy Raccoon’s return to VALORANT is one of the bigger stories of the new partnership cycle. The Japanese organisation announced its comeback on 20 October, three years after missing out on a partnership for the 2023 to 2026 cycle. A day later, it was confirmed as a VCT Partner Team for the Pacific league on a two-year deal. According to Sheep Esports, Crazy Raccoon effectively takes the Japanese partner slot that DetonatioN FocusMe held. Our full list of the 32 VCT partner teams for 2027 and 2028 has every club in the new cycle.
Partnership no longer guarantees a full season under the new system, however. Crazy Raccoon will receive a direct invitation to the VCT Pacific Kickoff, which runs from 11 to 31 January. After that, the club is expected to go through the open qualifiers like every other team to earn a place in the Cups, as we explained in our breakdown of the VCT Pacific 2027 format. Japan has three qualifier slots for the Cups, the same number as Korea.
Aace’s three seasons in Challengers Japan
Aace first made his name with RIDDLE, which he joined in December 2023 after a year with ZETA DIVISION’s academy team. In 2024, he helped RIDDLE win Challengers Japan Split 2, beating FENNEL 3-2 in the final to qualify for Ascension Pacific. RIDDLE finished fourth there after a 2-0 defeat to BOOM Esports, who went on to earn a guest slot in VCT Pacific. He joined FENNEL at the end of October 2024.
His two seasons at FENNEL brought plenty of deep runs but no ticket to Ascension. FENNEL won the Split 3 main stage in 2025, but lost the Season Finals grand final 3-1 to his former team, RIDDLE. The team did win Japan’s qualifier for Red Bull Home Ground, where it beat Team RA’AD before going out in the group stage after a defeat to Cloud9. In 2026, FENNEL lost the Split 1 final 3-1 to Crest Gaming, finished fourth in Split 2 and went out to QT DIG in the Season Finals semi-finals.
Aace has also represented Japan internationally this year. Alongside Meiy and Vorz, he helped Japan win the Asia qualifier for the Esports Nations Cup with a 2-0 win over Hong Kong in June. The main event of that tournament has since been postponed to November 2027.
With Aace, Crazy Raccoon would have three of its five starters in place, at least according to reports. Akame and Meiy bring top-flight experience from their DetonatioN FocusMe years, while Aace adds a younger initiator who knows the Japanese Challengers scene well. That would leave two places to fill before Kickoff, along with any substitute the club decides to carry. Japanese teams in VCT Pacific have often mixed local and Korean players, and akame himself is a Korean player who spent years in Japan with DFM. The Pacific transfer market has been busy, with players such as Masters Santiago MVP Dambi becoming a free agent after leaving Nongshim RedForce.
Crazy Raccoon has not yet announced any VALORANT players for 2027. Aace posts on X as @Aaceful, and the VCT Pacific Kickoff schedule will be published on Riot’s official VALORANT Esports site. The VCT Pacific Kickoff begins on 11 January 2027, about nine weeks from now.
