Esports organisation Aurora Gaming has entered VALORANT, signing a five-player roster that includes 'Derke', 'Boo' and 'trexx'.
The team was revealed on X (formerly Twitter) on October 28th through a newly created Aurora Valorant account, which named 'Derke', 'trexx', 'Boo', 'chiwa' and 'B1SK' as its players. "No introductions needed. A new chapter begins," the post read. 'Derke' shared the announcement shortly afterwards, writing: "Excited for the new chapter with Aurora 😎"
'Derke', 'trexx', 'chiwa' and 'B1SK' have all updated their X profiles to list the new team. At the time of writing, 'Boo' had not commented on the move, and his profile still listed Heretics.
How the roster came together
In a letter shared by the team, Aurora Gaming CEO Adalyat Mamedov said the signings mark the organisation's entry into "one of the most promising titles in esports". He called it "an incredibly important step for the continued growth of Aurora Gaming."
Mamedov said it was "the fastest I've ever seen a roster come together", with a coach, the players, negotiations and contracts falling into place within days. According to the letter, the contracts were "signed just minutes before the qualifier registration deadline." He thanked Head of Esports Alexander Lemeshev for his support and "swift decision-making", though the organisation has not named the coach.
Aurora and the 2027 VCT
Aurora Gaming already fields teams in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) and Apex Legends, according to its X profile. VALORANT is its first step into Riot Games' tactical shooter.
The move comes as Riot reshapes the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) for 2027 into a tournament-first season of more than 50 events. According to Riot's guide to the 2027 Open Qualifiers, Kickoff in VCT Americas, EMEA and Pacific will each feature 12 teams: eight partner teams and four from Open Qualifiers, which begin in November. Non-partner teams that reach major VCT stages will also receive fixed qualification payments.
Riot's EMEA region, covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa, runs separate Open Qualifiers for Europe, Türkiye and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Aurora's announcement did not say which qualifier the team will enter first. Mamedov's letter ended: "Can't wait for our first match!"
