After a brutal losing streak, popular esports organization DetonatioN FocusMe’s Academy VALORANT roster has finally shattered their long-running curse with a long-awaited map and series win in VCT Challengers 2025.
In their latest matchup against ZETA Division Academy during the ongoing VCT Challengers Japan Split three on July 24, DFM Academy not only secured their first map win of the season but also went on to take the series 2-1. While ZETA’s win on Icebox to open the series gave off a familiar sense of déjà vu, DFM held their ground on the remaining VALORANT maps, closing out Ascent 13-8 and Lotus 13-8.
DFM Academy’s victory finally ended a long and disheartening losing streak of 14 consecutive series, which began in January during Split 1. Until now, the roster, which was first formed in 2024 for the VCT 2025 season, had lost every matchup with a 0-2 scoreline, amounting to a staggering 28 map losses in a row.
While it’s hard to pinpoint every issue, DFM Academy have consistently struggled with key fundamentals—coordination, strategy, and mechanics—which helps explain their odd performance gap. But it’s not just the Academy team or VCT Challengers.
Despite its strong legacy in League of Legends, DetonatioN FocusMe has struggled to find its footing in VALORANT’s ever-evolving competitive landscape. The organization earned a direct invite to the VCT Pacific franchise program in its inaugural year, but even with numerous roster changes, the partnered team quickly became known for one of the worst losing streaks in the game’s history.
In their first year of partnership (2023), DFM’s failed to win a single series during the League stage. In 2024, they scraped together only a handful of victories. Now in 2025, the struggle continues at just three series wins so far. All of this calls for the inevitable question: is DetonatioN FocusMe, as a whole, cursed in VALORANT?
As far as the Academy team is concerned, their single breakthrough against ZETA does offer a glimmer of hope for their journey in VCT Challengers going forward. But only time will tell if it’s the beginning of a turnaround, or merely a brief pause in a longer downfall. With their next Split three matchup scheduled against Riddle Order, one of the top teams in Japan right now, the odds still aren’t in their favor. Then again, Riddle did fall to ZETA Academy earlier, so anything’s possible.
