In a statement shared by Apeks on Twitter, the organization announced that Ava "florescent" Eugene will step away for the remainder of the VCT 2025 season. Shortly after, the player explained in a personal post that she was taking time to rest and recharge, adding, "I may return to competing again in the future, but that isn’t something I’m putting much thought into right now."

a confirming 2024, a more challenging 2025

Florescent spent 2024 with Shopify Rebellion (SR) in the VCT Game Changers circuit in her home region, North America, after a promising 2023 with Version1. SR collected numerous trophies throughout the year, winning all three series and, to cap it off, the 2024 VALORANT Game Changers Championship with a dominant 3-0 victory over MIBR GC. Her outstanding performances quickly set her apart and caught the attention of several Tier 1 organizations. It was Apeks who secured the young prodigy’s signing. The Norwegian team had won both splits in the Northern Europe region before pulling off a major success by defeating PCIFIC Esports 3-2 in the 2024 EMEA Ascension, earning their promotion to VCT.

Unfortunately for them, 2025 has been quite difficult. To begin with, the EMEA Kickoff and its highly unforgiving format left little room for error for the newly promoted roster. After losing their first match against Gentle Mates, the team immediately found themselves in the lower bracket, facing a do-or-die match against Team Liquid, who then went on to cruise to the final.

Then came the group stage of Stage 1, where Apeks found themselves in the Alpha group alongside some tough opponents. Out of the five best-of-threes they played, they didn’t win a single series, managing to take only two maps—one against Team Heretics and another against NAVI. The split ended without a single victory for Florescent and Apeks.

a difficult year on a personal level

As the player mentioned in her post, the relocation to Berlin was very challenging for her. At just 18 years old, she had to move to Europe, carrying the pressure of being the first player from the Game Changers to compete in the VCT. She made a point of thanking her teammates, coaching staff, and many teams who showed her great kindness and support since her arrival. She also noted that Apeks offered her the opportunity to explore options with other teams for Split 2 if anything made her happier and allowed her to continue competing.