Go “UdoTan” Kyung-won and Xavier “xavi8k” Juan have both announced that they are free agents entering the 2027 offseason. Their announcements came one day after Global Esports founder and CEO Rushindra Sinha said the organisation would be exiting esports to begin a new era as an AI studio, following confirmation that GE was not chosen as a partnered org.
Global Esports’ departure from Valorant has already broken up the roster. The organisation’s exit means every member of the team has been released, and more players are expected to post their own free agency announcements soon. The report said the article will be updated as those moves become public.
Global Esports’ exit triggers a full roster release
The timing makes the two announcements part of the same shake-up rather than separate market moves. GE’s exit from Valorant left the team without a future in the game, so UdoTan and xavi8k are entering the market as free agents because their organisation stepped away entirely. That places them among the first visible names from a roster that has effectively been emptied out.
The news also lands as the offseason around Valorant begins to form ahead of 2027. GE’s exit was tied to the wider organisational reset that followed the partnered org decision, but the immediate consequence is simple: the team that reached the offseason no longer exists in its previous form, and its players are now free to look elsewhere.
The report noted that the remaining GE players are expected to announce free agency soon. Until those posts arrive, the confirmed change is limited to UdoTan and xavi8k, both of whom are now available for teams ahead of the next season.
UdoTan’s route through Korea, Thailand and China
UdoTan’s free agency closes another chapter in a career that has moved across several regions. He joined Global ahead of the 2025 season after competing for Rare Atom through 2024, when the team finished runner-up at China Ascension. Before that, he spent his first full year in the game on Korean Challengers squads after debuting in 2020.
His path then took him to TALON in 2022, while the organisation was competing in the Filipino Challengers circuit. After around six months there, he returned to Korea and played for Tartarus and Gwangju Shadow before heading back to China in late 2023 with Four Angry Men.
UdoTan has long been known as a Duelist player, but his time with Global produced the biggest result of his career. This year, he lifted his first VCT title in Pacific Stage 2 and was named the stage’s MVP. That makes his free agency more than a routine roster update: it comes after a season in which he delivered a championship and an individual award on one of the region’s biggest stages.
His announcement also reflected the international nature of his run with GE. The post shared that he was fluent in Korean with a bit of English, language experience he likely picked up across two seasons on the team’s multinational rosters. That background matters because it shows how much of his career has been shaped by cross-border play, from Korean Challengers to Thailand, the Philippines and China before landing at Global Esports.
xavi8k is back on the market after another GE stint
xavi8k is now a free agent for the second straight offseason. He had no team last year after finishing the previous season with Filipino organisation NAOS, which placed fifth to sixth at Pacific Ascension. He then joined Global Esports and spent the year there before the organisation’s exit from Valorant forced another open market situation.
His move to GE also marked his first time competing for a team outside the Philippines. Before that, he played for Sunsparks, Bren Esports and Oasis Gaming, building his reputation in the local scene before taking on a regional role.
At GE, his role evolved from the one he was known for when he arrived. The report said he came in with a reputation as an Initiator and Sentinel player, but ended up mainly playing Controller while also handling in-game leading duties. There were still occasional Sova or Sage appearances depending on the map, but he was firmly the team’s primary Controller for most of the year.
xavi8k’s own free agency note also laid out what he can offer a new roster. He said he is looking for an opportunity as an Initiator, Controller or Sentinel, while also noting that he can IGL and mid-round. He added that he is open to any region and able to relocate. He is a dual citizen of the United States and the Philippines, which broadens the range of teams that could consider him.
What GE’s shutdown means next
With both players now public as free agents, the rest of the GE roster is expected to follow. The report made clear that all members were released when the organisation left Valorant, and that more announcements should arrive soon as players confirm their status for 2027.
That leaves teams with two immediate watchpoints: UdoTan, whose year ended with a VCT title and MVP award, and xavi8k, whose value lies in his flexibility, leadership and willingness to change regions. Their next moves will depend on which organisations are still building for the offseason, but both are now officially available after GE’s withdrawal from the scene.
The only confirmed development for now is that the roster has begun to scatter. Global Esports is leaving Valorant, and two of its players have already taken the first public step toward what comes next.
lost my duo after a roster wipe too lol
was it a full reset?
yeah, whole squad gone
Do you mean when the team splits, or when one player leaves? Because here it sounds like GE shutting down the whole roster, not just a normal transfer. That is a bit different from losing one duo queue partner after tilt.
not the same mate, they got released
GE out is the real headline
xavi8k saying he can IGL and flex into initiator/controller/sentinel is the part that stands out. That kind of swiss-army knife value is exactly what teams look for in offseason.
Is it though? When a guy gets moved around that much, sometimes it reads more like ‘we never found his best role’. Flex is useful, but teams still want a clean fit, not a patchwork lineup.
UdoTan going from Pacific MVP to free agent is wild
MVP then unemployed, classic esports
I wouldn’t call it unemployed, free agency is just the market part. A player with a title and MVP is not exactly begging for scraps.
controller tax
controller mains always get blamed when the team has no smoke and no plan lol
true lol
Not really. The story says he was a primary controller for most of the year, but he also had to IGL and still pull out Sova or Sage on some maps. That is less ‘controller tax’ and more ‘the roster needed him to do everything’. If anything, that versatility probably helped keep GE competitive instead of hurting them.