LEGACY OF CHAMPIONS
DAF-Hikari Trophy Cabinet
Hikari Esports revived the legendary DAF roster in 2025, bringing back Asia-Pacific’s most decorated Overwatch 2 team. Since their 2022 debut out of Thailand, the core lineup has maintained a dominant ~70% win rate (59 series wins out of 74, 175 game wins out of 234) and once rattled off a 14-match win streak across 8+ tournaments, securing 2 first-place finishes, 1 second-place, and 1 third-place with significant prize earnings. Under previous banners, they claimed the Overwatch Contenders 2023 Fall Series and Summer Series APAC titles (as Kraken), secured SEA’s slot at Esports World Cup 2024 (as Bleed, with a competitive Group Stage showing), and continued to shine with Nosebleed—now reunited under the Hikari banner as DAF-Hikari, they stand ready to reclaim their throne as Southeast Asia’s undisputed powerhouse.
Contenders
9 Championships (APAC/SEA regionals)
Oct 4, 2023 – Overwatch Contenders 2023 Fall Series: Asia Pacific (A-Tier) 1st Place ($7,000) – Defeated VARREL 4-2 in Grand Final
Aug 20, 2023 – Overwatch Contenders 2023 Summer Series: Thailand (A-Tier) 1st Place ($2,826) – Shutout Angelica Esports 4-0
Mar 12, 2023 – Into The SEA 2023 Spring (B-Tier) 1st Place ($1,000) – Won Grand Final 3-1 vs Team Name (TN)
Feb 26, 2023 – Overwatch World Cup 2023 Thailand Open Trials (C-Tier) 1st Place ($2,000) – Swept LYNX_TH 3-0 (qualified Thailand NT players)
Jan 15, 2023 – Overwatch 2 Rangsit University 2023 (C-Tier) 1st Place ($228) – 3-0 Grand Final
Jan 6, 2023 – Overwatch Tournament+ Season 1 (D-Tier) 1st Place ($89) – 3-0 victory
Dec 13, 2022 – Overwatch Contenders 2022 Pacific Showdown Qualifier 1st Place – 3-0 qualifier win
Nov 27, 2022 – Into The SEA Community Qualifier (B-Tier) 1st Place ($1,390) – 4-0 domination
Jun 11, 2023 – Overwatch Contenders 2023 Summer Series: Asia Pacific (A-Tier) 1st Place ($7,000) – Kraken (DAF core) swept 3-0 in Grand Final (Core Roster under Kraken)
Runner-Up
ุ
6 Runner-ups (including OWCS Pacific Stage 1)
Mar 28, 2024 – Overwatch Champions Series 2024 - Pacific Stage 1 (A-Tier) 2nd Place ($3,000) – Lost 1:4 to Honeypot in Grand Final
Sep 5, 2023 – Overwatch WDG Open Tournament Southeast Asia Fall (B-Tier) 2nd Place ($300) – Lost 1:3 in Grand Final
Jun 5, 2022 – Open Division 2022 Season 1 - Australia & New Zealand (C-Tier) 2nd Place ($1,500) – Lost 1:4 to EC in Grand Final
May 15, 2022 – Pacific Prequel Invitational #1 (C-Tier) 2nd Place ($35.90) – Lost 2:3 in Grand Final
Jul 2, 2022 – Japan Community 1Day Cup #6 (C-Tier) 2nd Place (No prize) – Lost 0:2 in Grand Final
Esports World Cup 2024: DAF Roster's Global Debut
Proud participants in the Esports World Championship.
In July 2024, the battle-hardened core roster of DAF qualified for the inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC) Overwatch 2 – a landmark S-Tier tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, pitting 16 of the world's top teams from every major region (Americas, EMEA, APAC, China) in a high-stakes battle for a $1,000,000 prize pool. Acquired by Bleed Esports on June 13th as Southeast Asia's exclusive representative, the DAF lineup – featuring stars like Tank CLEAR, DPS Ace and Yoshinori2k – made their international major debut in Group C alongside juggernauts ZETA DIVISION (Japan), ENCE (EMEA), and M80 (Americas).
Facing double-elimination pressure, Bleed fought valiantly but exited with a 0-3 group record (13th-16th overall placement, $10,000 earned):
0-2 vs ZETA DIVISION (clean sweep by the APAC powerhouse).
1-3 vs ENCE (took one map off the EMEA favorites in a gritty showing).
0-2 vs M80 (edged out by the Americas contender).
This EWC campaign etched the DAF core into history as proven veterans of the global stage – the only SEA roster to compete at this elite level, gaining invaluable experience against the planet's best amid 500K+ peak viewers. Revived by Hikari Esports as DAF-Hikari, these EWC-tested warriors are primed for even greater conquests.
Tokyo HQ
The Japanese Heart of Asian Esports
Headquartered in Tokyo, Hikari Esports is a pure Japanese corporation dedicated to building and accelerating professional esports across the region and beyond. We launched in 2025 by acquiring Southeast Asia’s most successful Overwatch 2 roster, DAF, and rebranding it as our flagship division: DAF-Hikari.
Tokyo was chosen deliberately as our global command center for three strategic reasons:
Japan’s unmatched infrastructure for high-production events, world-class venues, and cutting-edge streaming technology.
Direct access to Asia-Pacific’s largest sponsor and partner ecosystem, enabling rapid growth for our teams and tournaments.
The perfect bridge between Southeast Asian raw talent and Japanese operational excellence, creating a new standard for international rosters.
From this Tokyo HQ, we are already planning the Hikari Japan Series, a multi-million-yen tournament circuit set to become the premier third-party Overwatch 2 and multi-title stage in Japan starting 2026, followed by expanded divisions in Valorant, League of Legends, and beyond.
Our mission is to ignite the Japanese esports scene, elevate Asia-Pacific competition to global prominence, and build a sustainable, world-class ecosystem that nurtures the next generation of champions, from Tokyo to the world stage.