Sheydos announces return from break and intent to play in the VCT 2026 season

After three years under KOI, former champion of VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Playoffs Bogdan "sheydos" Naumov has announced his intention to return to professional VALORANT following a short break during VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - EMEA Stage 2.

Sheydos had been with KOI ever since the start of VALORANT franchising, where he was present with the team during VCT 2023 - LOCK//IN as the team finished in 17th-32nd place. He remained with the team up until VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - EMEA Stage 1, where he cited taking a break to “fully recover physically and mentally". As a result, KOI underwent a major roster overhaul in an attempt to make a last-ditch effort for VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions, resulting in a 1-4 record in Group Omega.

Now, Sheydos will be looking to make his return to competitive VALORANT after he revealed that he is looking to come back for the 2026 VCT season.

The return of a champion

Sheydos found early success in VALORANT in the inaugural VCT season, where his crowning achievement was winning VCT Masters Berlin 2021 under Gambit Esports, followed by a respectable second-place finish at VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021.

However, since that point, Sheydos has had trouble replicating that early success throughout his three-year tenure with KOI ever since VCT franchising as the team’s Sentinel player.

With KOI’s removal from the VCT EMEA circuit, uncertainty grew as to what Sheydos’s next steps would be, considering his lackluster results in recent years under KOI. That being said, while there are limited spots available in Tier 1 EMEA, many teams could benefit from Sheydos’ experience in VALORANT. So far, he has not mentioned whether he would be willing to role swap.

For now, VALORANT fans should be sure to check out Champions Paris, where the tournament’s playoff stage will begin on September 25, 2025.

The final eight teams will compete in the VCT Champions Paris playoffs for their spot in the Gand Fnal taking place on October 5, 2025. Once hampions Paris is over, Sheydos will be able to start weighing out his options in-depth ahead of the 2026 season.

Feature image source: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games