Sonder to retire from VALORANT after Red Bull Instalock

One of VALORANT’s most experienced Game Changers players, Diana ‘sonder’ Zhang, has announced her retirement from the competitive scene, with Red Bull Instalock 2025 set to be her final tournament.

The Chinese American duelist, currently playing for FlyQuest RED, has decided to step away from esports to focus on other life goals.

“I’m glad to have met all of the cool people across my whole career. Thank you all for the support and love and encouragement throughout every high and every low alongside me. I hope to have shown that no matter what, always have some fun,” sonder tweeted.

“I’m not sad that it’s ending, yet I’m glad that it happened. Love you all.”

Despite exciting the esports scene, sonder mentioned that she will continue streaming on her Twitch channel.

Sonder made her VCT Game Changers debut back in 2021 with Moon Raccoons Black, but it wasn’t long before she caught the attention of Shopify Rebellion GC. Notably, she spent over two years with the team, helping Shopify Rebellion GC finish runners-up at the 2022 Game Changers Championship.

In January 2024, sonder joined FlyQuest RED and has remained with the roster for over a year before announcing her departure from esports earlier this week.

Bidding her farewell, FlyQuest RED said: “Thank you sonder, for your time with RED and Game Changers. Your impact towards the team and the scene as a whole has been remarkable, we’ll miss you lots.

sonder will set her foot on the stage one last time on May 2nd and 3rd at Red Bull Instalock, hosted at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London. The event will also be streamed live on Red Bull Gaming’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.

She is not the only prominent VALORANT player stepping away from the competitive scene. Ava ‘florescent’ Eugene, who moved to VCT after signing with EMEA organisation Apeks, has also taken a break from the rest of the 2025 season to rest and recharge.