100 Thieves Hiko retires from Valorant ahead of roster shakeup

100 Thieves captain and longtime FPS star Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin announced his retirement from pro Valorant play ahead of an expected VCT 2022 roster shakeup.

The company notified fans on April 12 of the immediate change which now leaves the team with three open spots, not including Sean ‘bang’ Bezerra who is on loan from TSM, to fill ahead of VCT Stage 2.

100T founder Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag paid tribute to Hiko’s career and his deep involvement in leading the Valorant initiative back in 2020.

“We knew immediately Hiko had to be a part of 100 Thieves,” Nadeshot said. “Ever since the beginning, once he signed with us, he believed in the vision. He helped architect some of our rosters throughout the last couple years. It’s just been a joy to have him a part of our organization.”

100T Hiko retires from Valorant

Hiko (32) has long been the face of 100T’s Valorant project, leading most iterations of the team from the org’s experimental PUBG roster to a star-studded lineup filled with ex-CSGO pros like Nicholas ‘nitr0’ Cannella and Joshua ‘Joshua Nissan’ Nissan.

• Read more: 100 Thieves head coach Sean Gares hints at imminent roster reveal

After a long career in CS:GO and Valorant, Hiko will step back from competition after leading some of the most exciting teams North America has ever produced.

“Thank you for being a part of my 14-year journey,” he said. “I cannot express how grateful I am for my fans, my Twitch community, and 100 Thieves. Love you all!”

Hiko and 100 Thieves notably won the first major regional event with their win at First Strike, the American’s first trophy of his storied career. The team would quickly solidify itself as one of the top NA squads with Hiko mentoring some of the younger stars like Peter ‘Asuna’ Mazuryk and Quan ‘dicey’ Tran.

• Read more: Valorant star sinatraa announces return to competition

As a veteran of CS:GO and Valorant, he’s been long known as the ‘dad’ of the scene. He’ll continue to be a big influence in Valorant and streaming as 100T’s newest full-time content creator.