d3ffo leaves BOOM Esports after one year and goes LFT in APAC, China

Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov has announced that he is looking for a new team after one year with BOOM Esports. He said he is open to Sentinel or flex roles and is searching for opportunities in APAC or China, closing out his run with the organization after BOOM’s 2026 season failed to bring a return to VCT Pacific.

BOOM had already lost its place in VCT Pacific after falling at Pacific Ascension, but it stayed active in Valorant with a hybrid roster built around pieces from its Ascension lineup. The team kept NcSlasher, Shiro and natz from that roster, then tried to rebuild around them. The results never pushed BOOM back toward the top of Southeast Asian Valorant, though, and the team finished 7th-8th in SEA Stage 2 before missing the result needed to reach the VCT Pacific Stage 2 Play-Ins.

d3ffo’s first year in Asia ends with another search

d3ffo joined BOOM as part of the organization’s post-VCT roster ahead of the 2026 season. It was his first time competing in Asia, and it also ended a half-year without a team. For a player who has been around Valorant since the game’s early days in 2020, the move was another step in a career built mostly through Challengers rosters rather than VCT appearances.

Before joining BOOM, he started the 2025 season with SweetNsour. That team competed in Challengers NORTH//EAST and recorded back-to-back 5th-6th finishes. In 2024, he spent most of the year with Team Valiant, playing in Challengers France and helping the lineup reach the semifinals of EMEA Ascension.

His own message was direct:

“LFT, was a rough year for me but need to move on,”

d3ffo said, adding that he is looking for opportunities in APAC/China. That update also included the roles he is willing to play, with Sentinel and flex listed as his preferred options.

BOOM’s year was shaped by the fact that it had already lost its VCT Pacific spot, then tried to keep competing with a mixed roster during the current cycle. The team’s season never found stable footing. Once the roster moved deeper into 2026, BOOM’s results still did not match the level needed to reclaim a place in the region’s top league, and the final push toward the Stage 2 Play-Ins fell short.

The organization also went through staff and roster changes after the season. Head coach Fields departed for an analyst role with Global Esports, while natz later joined Team Secret as part of a mid-season rebuild. Those moves left BOOM with fewer familiar pieces by the time the current cycle was winding down, adding more turnover to a lineup that had already changed shape after the loss of its VCT slot.

BOOM’s situation was unusual even before d3ffo’s exit. The team stayed in Valorant after the partnership era began in 2023, then tried to remain relevant after losing its league place. It held on to some of its Ascension roster, but the combination of roster shuffling, coaching changes and uneven results kept it from climbing back into the tier it had occupied before the relegation from VCT Pacific.

The final roster picture at the end of the current cycle included Nakya, Shiro and NcSlasher, with BOOM entering the offseason after another change rather than a settled rebuild. That means the organization now has to sort out its next roster direction while also dealing with the departure of a player who arrived as part of its attempt to rebuild around Ascension survivors.

From Gambit and M3C to one more offseason on the market

d3ffo is still best known for his 2021 and 2022 runs with Gambit Esports and M3 Champions. He was part of the Gambit roster that won Masters Berlin and later finished second at Champions Berlin. Alongside players such as nAts and Chronicle, he served as Gambit’s primary Duelist during one of the team’s strongest stretches.

His history before and after that peak has been more scattered. He has played on a number of Challengers squads over the years, but despite the success he found with Gambit, he has yet to compete on a VCT team. That gap has remained part of his career profile even as he kept moving through regional rosters and short-term lineups.

The move away from BOOM leaves him back on the market at a time when his experience could appeal to teams in APAC or China. His statement makes the target clear, and his willingness to play Sentinel or flex widens the list of possible suitors beyond pure Duelist-heavy builds. For teams that want a veteran who has already won internationally and is comfortable changing roles, he is now one of the more recognizable free agents in the region.

BOOM, meanwhile, has another decision to make after a year that already included relegation, an uneven Stage 2 showing and a staff change. The roster never fully settled after the loss of VCT Pacific, and d3ffo’s departure adds one more hole to fill before the next cycle begins. His exit also closes the book on his first Asia stint, which began with the hope of helping BOOM rebuild and ends with both player and team facing a reset.

The broader context around his departure is simple: BOOM entered 2026 trying to recover from Pacific Ascension, kept competing in the region with a patched-together lineup, and still failed to return to the league. d3ffo arrived as part of that effort, spent the year in a new region, and is now looking for another roster where he can fit as either a Sentinel or flex player. If he lands in APAC or China, it will be his next chance to turn an LFT post into a fresh run rather than another stop in a long list of Challengers moves.