Professional Esports Team CREST GAMING Zst Achieves Long-Awaited Undefeated Victory in VALORANT Challengers Japan 2026 Split 1!
Human Academy's professional esports team, CREST GAMING Zst (CGZ), has achieved an undefeated victory in VALORANT Challengers Japan 2026 Split 1. This marks CGZ's first major title win and is a significant step towards competing in world championships.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 30, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 30, 2026 at 11:58 (26 min after Collected)
Human Academy Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tomonobu Tanaka; hereinafter "the Company"), which operates educational businesses, announces that its professional esports team "Human Academy CREST GAMING" (hereinafter "CREST GAMING") and its VALORANT division "CREST GAMING Zst" (hereinafter "CGZ") have won the official VALORANT tournament "VALORANT Challengers Japan 2026" (hereinafter "VCJ2026") Split 1.
This victory marks CGZ's first major title in the domestic competitive scene, symbolizing the team's significant leap forward.
https://crestgaming.com/
■ Position of the Esports Market and This Tournament
In recent years, the esports market in Japan has continued to expand, with "VALORANT," a tactical FPS title, enjoying high popularity, especially among younger generations. VCJ is positioned as an important official league in Japan that leads to world championships, forming the top-tier competitive scene in the country.
■ Tournament Results
The final match of this tournament's Playoffs was held on April 16, 2026, where CGZ faced FENNEL, a strong team that had won close matches in the Main Stage. CGZ secured a 3-1 victory, brilliantly claiming the Split 1 championship. Furthermore, CGZ entered the tournament from the Advance Stage, where amateur and new teams fiercely compete, and achieved an undefeated record of 9 wins through the Main Stage and Playoffs. They demonstrated overwhelming performance throughout the tournament, leveraging stable gameplay and high individual skill.
This victory solidifies CGZ's presence as a domestic team capable of challenging for a spot in world championships, providing significant momentum for the upcoming Split 2.
■ About CGZ
CREST GAMING Zst (hereinafter "CGZ") launched its VALORANT division in 2022 and has continuously challenged itself to reach the global stage. For several years, they experienced frustrating setbacks, falling just short in official VCJ tournaments. Despite the intense player trading in the VALORANT community, they struggled to perform at their peak. However, based on their slogan, "Aim for the CREST," they have been striving for a breakthrough.
■ CGZ Coach's Comment
CGZ HEAD COACH: Nerufi
Reflecting on VCJ Split 1
"We've won many off-season tournaments, but it's been a while since we achieved results in VCJ tournaments, so I'm very happy. However, I never thought we consistently lacked skill; sometimes, frustrating outcomes were due to tournament formats or structures. Even this time, the path from the Advance Stage wasn't easy, but I'm relieved that we managed to win."
Key to Victory
"A major factor was being able to continue practicing with the same three players—bazz, KEN, and yutaro—for a long period without changes. Previously, we were often forced to change team members due to player poaching before we could truly break through as a team, which was difficult. I also believe it's thanks to my belief in my own ideas regarding composition and playstyle, and the players who executed them."
Team Strengths
"Simply put, the players' strong physical abilities are a major strength. When selecting players, I have always prioritized whether their physical prowess is genuine. While this often means they might be weaker in pick pool or game understanding, I believed the latter could be resolved with the coach's skill and approach. The former rarely changes significantly on a personal level. I believe that without a physical foundation, you cannot play good matches. In that regard, the current members rarely had physical issues during scrims and tournaments, which led to this result."
Looking Ahead to VCJ Split 2
"I'm happy that we won Split 1, but I want to stay focused so that it's not just a one-time achievement. We will be more closely watched than ever, and our unique compositions and playstyles will be studied, making it more difficult. However, we aim to overcome everything and achieve good results in Split 2 as well."
Thank you for your continued support of CGZ!
■ Human Academy CREST GAMING https://crestgaming.com/
CREST GAMING, as its name "CREST = ultimate, pinnacle" suggests,
This victory marks CGZ's first major title in the domestic competitive scene, symbolizing the team's significant leap forward.
https://crestgaming.com/
■ Position of the Esports Market and This Tournament
In recent years, the esports market in Japan has continued to expand, with "VALORANT," a tactical FPS title, enjoying high popularity, especially among younger generations. VCJ is positioned as an important official league in Japan that leads to world championships, forming the top-tier competitive scene in the country.
■ Tournament Results
The final match of this tournament's Playoffs was held on April 16, 2026, where CGZ faced FENNEL, a strong team that had won close matches in the Main Stage. CGZ secured a 3-1 victory, brilliantly claiming the Split 1 championship. Furthermore, CGZ entered the tournament from the Advance Stage, where amateur and new teams fiercely compete, and achieved an undefeated record of 9 wins through the Main Stage and Playoffs. They demonstrated overwhelming performance throughout the tournament, leveraging stable gameplay and high individual skill.
This victory solidifies CGZ's presence as a domestic team capable of challenging for a spot in world championships, providing significant momentum for the upcoming Split 2.
■ About CGZ
CREST GAMING Zst (hereinafter "CGZ") launched its VALORANT division in 2022 and has continuously challenged itself to reach the global stage. For several years, they experienced frustrating setbacks, falling just short in official VCJ tournaments. Despite the intense player trading in the VALORANT community, they struggled to perform at their peak. However, based on their slogan, "Aim for the CREST," they have been striving for a breakthrough.
■ CGZ Coach's Comment
CGZ HEAD COACH: Nerufi
Reflecting on VCJ Split 1
"We've won many off-season tournaments, but it's been a while since we achieved results in VCJ tournaments, so I'm very happy. However, I never thought we consistently lacked skill; sometimes, frustrating outcomes were due to tournament formats or structures. Even this time, the path from the Advance Stage wasn't easy, but I'm relieved that we managed to win."
Key to Victory
"A major factor was being able to continue practicing with the same three players—bazz, KEN, and yutaro—for a long period without changes. Previously, we were often forced to change team members due to player poaching before we could truly break through as a team, which was difficult. I also believe it's thanks to my belief in my own ideas regarding composition and playstyle, and the players who executed them."
Team Strengths
"Simply put, the players' strong physical abilities are a major strength. When selecting players, I have always prioritized whether their physical prowess is genuine. While this often means they might be weaker in pick pool or game understanding, I believed the latter could be resolved with the coach's skill and approach. The former rarely changes significantly on a personal level. I believe that without a physical foundation, you cannot play good matches. In that regard, the current members rarely had physical issues during scrims and tournaments, which led to this result."
Looking Ahead to VCJ Split 2
"I'm happy that we won Split 1, but I want to stay focused so that it's not just a one-time achievement. We will be more closely watched than ever, and our unique compositions and playstyles will be studied, making it more difficult. However, we aim to overcome everything and achieve good results in Split 2 as well."
Thank you for your continued support of CGZ!
■ Human Academy CREST GAMING https://crestgaming.com/
CREST GAMING, as its name "CREST = ultimate, pinnacle" suggests,