Benedict “Benkai” Tan broke the silence on his future plans, just four days after VCT Masters Tokyo — a tournament he was benched for.
In Week 4 of the VCT Pacific League, the Singaporean professional player was replaced by Ilya “something” Petrov. And on June 4, PRX officially announced that Benkai would no longer be a part of their main roster.
At Masters Tokyo, something couldn’t join the team in Japan due to Visa issues. Instead of having Benkai rejoin the team, PRX had Patiphan “CGRS” Posri take the vacant roster spot.
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Benkai is deciding between two career paths
PRX’s former IGL shared a lengthy post on Twitter detailing his thoughts after returning home from Japan.
“I’m not gonna lie, the last few months have taken their toll on me, and I’m incredibly drained,” he said. “Now that the post-event dust has settled, I feel like I owe it to everyone to let the people know what has been going on and what to expect next.”
According to Benkai, he is unsure what he wants to do next. He explained that now he has some free time, he will spend time with his loved ones while trying to figure out his next move.
“The only thing I can confirm right now without any doubt is that I take pride and joy in entertaining,” he said. “Be it behind the desk or on the stage.”
“Whether I want to pursue the former or latter or even something entirely different, I honestly don’t know just yet. It’s time for me to take a step back and focus on finding where my happiness lies.”
Benkai was one of PRX’s first players on their Valorant roster. He was part of PRX’s CS:GO roster that moved to Valorant in 2021. He helped the team win various VCT Challengers competitions in the APAC region, and led PRX to their highest placement at an international LAN event when they finished second at Masters Copenhagen.
After Benkai was benched by PRX, we’ve seen him join the analyst desk at VCT Pacific League and Masters Tokyo.
Aside from his accomplishments as a pro player, Benaki is best known for his memorable walkouts during Masters and Champions events.
In the opening match between Edward Gaming and PRX at Valorant Champions 2022, Benkai walked down the stage dressed as a Turkish ice cream man, complete with a cute red and gold hat. In PRX’s next match against Leviatán, he came out dressed as a construction worker with a hammer and drill in each hand.
In previous tournaments, the Singaporean pro walked out on stage in a Viking costume, penguin outfit, T-Rex suit, and more.
READ MORE: VCT Ascension Pacific 2023: Schedule, results, standings, format, teams, where to watch
