After several controversies and an unsatisfactory run in the VCT 2024 Pacific league’s first season, VALORANT star yay is officially taking a temporary leave of absence. His organization, BLEED Esports, cited “health reasons” as the reason behind yay’s decision and pledged its support for the 25-year-old star.
This is the second time yay has taken a hiatus from VALORANT while at BLEED; after joining the team in September 2023, he stepped back in early December just before the VALORANT ONE Pro Invitational, also due to “unforeseen health issues.”
“Health and wellness are at the forefront of our priorities at BLEED,” the organization’s chief operating officer, Ian Huston, said on X (formerly Twitter) earlier today. “Yay will be missed as he gets back to 100 percent, but he has our full support throughout this return.”
yay’s latest decision to temporarily step down from his professional career comes after Bleed’s disheartening performance in VCT Pacific’s first split. The roster lost five series while winning just one. In fact, Bleed’s only win against DetonatioN FocusMe marks yay’s first victory in over a year since he exited Cloud9 in 2023.
Back in February, Yay revealed that he was dealing with blurry vision, costing his team some crucial rounds in the series against Global Esports in VCT Pacific Kickoff. The latest announcement, however, hasn’t indicated what exactly he is going through.