Team Envy has officially secured promotion to the VCT Americas League after lifting the trophy at VCT Ascension Americas, but they’re going to have to make some big changes as a result.

While the team can celebrate, they’ll soon have to face looming roster changes coming into the next season.

Envy Ascend to VCT Americas

The Team Envy players spent the entire year grinding it out in the Challengers League and had their efforts pay off after emerging victorious at Ascension Americas 2025. The team was considered the heavy favorite and secured the job in a convincing manner. 

Leading the charge was the team’s 17-year-old star player, Alex “canezerra” Banyasz, who performed well at his debut LAN tournament. He was the highest-rated player in the playoffs with a 1.14 rating. 

Won Ascension
#1 stats playoffs pic.twitter.com/8OV9ZdOycg

— canezerra (@canezerra) October 27, 2025

We’ll finally see the Team Envy banner back in Tier 1 since the team, consisting of Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker and Pujan “FNS” Mehta, was acquired by OpTic Gaming in 2022. 

Immediate Roster Trouble Ahead of VCT

However, Envy entered the tournament knowing they’d have to face a major setback. Their dream promotion comes with the harsh reality that two of the team’s players, canezerra (17) and Ayan “ion2x” Rastogi (16), will be ineligible to compete in VCT franchising due to Riot’s minimum age rule, which requires players to be 18 years or older to participate in official events.

This rule means Envy will have to start their 2026 campaign without their star player, canezerra, who carried them to promotion, as he won’t turn 18 until June 2026. The team’s controller, ion2x, is also out of the question, being a year younger. 

Envy will now have to scout replacements, but there should be plenty of players to recruit from the upcoming roster shuffle. They could pick up former VCT players, or ones who participated in the very Ascension tournament they just won. 

TSM’s Roster Drama Overshadows Their Finals Run

On the other side of the coin, their opponents in the Grand Final, TSM, found themselves in a little bit of internal drama. In the middle of their Ascension run, rumors revealed two of the team’s players had already verbally agreed to join 100 Thieves for the next year. 

These leaks may have dealt a massive blow to the team’s morale and motivation. Timothée “Timotino” Lavigne Dupont, who was one of the players reportedly joining 100 Thieves, ended up being the lowest performer in the Grand Final. 

yo are we still playing today?? @vorazune @Timotino7 https://t.co/3DuYYw1jlN

— TSM seven (@sevvn) October 24, 2025

What’s Next for Envy?

Though Envy can celebrate their promotion, it’s inevitable that they’ll have to shake up their roster. The team has proven it has what it takes to compete at the highest level, but it won’t even be able to try competing against America’s best with the same roster. 

Still, we’ll see popular Twitch personalities such as Eggsterr, known for being a Yoru one-trick, and Matteo “P0PPIN” Weber, popularized for his trademarked “P0PPIN Swing,” compete in VCT.