Hastr0 explains why Valorant is “killing” CSGO
HECZ (YouTube) / Riot GamesTeam Envy owner, Mike ‘hastr0’ Rufail, has delved into why he believes Valorant is “killing” CSGO in North America after a plethora of former pros have fled over to Riot’s shooter.
It’s no secret that Valorant is on the path to becoming a tier-one esport. At its core, Valorant puts competitive integrity first. From the 128-tick servers to sophisticated anti-cheat, Riot has provided players with the closest thing to a level playing field as possible.
It’s no surprise, then, that a good chunk of Counter-Strike players have fled from Valve’s first-person shooter over to Valorant. Since both games are mechanically similar in terms of gunplay, the urge jump ship has never been more appealing.
And Riot’s excellent reputation gained off the back of creating a thriving esport — with League of Legends — is just the icing on the cake.
Riot GamesRiot 1-0 Valve: Is Valorant killing CSGO?
Up until this point, no game in its class has really come close to Counter-Strike’s esports prowess. It’s unquestionably the premier title in its field and is arguably the only tier-one shooter in esports.
But hastr0 thinks that times are changing and that Riot are shooting their shot at the perfect time. “If Riot does for Valorant what they do for League of Legends, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be huge… I’m in it because I think what they’ve done with League of Legends is fantastic for esports, so I’m just putting my faith in Riot to replicate that for Valorant.”
When prompted by Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez on the amount of players transferring from CS:GO, hastr0 claimed that it’s “killing NA CS” — and this is primarily due to some of the biggest personalities, such as Jay ‘sinatraa’ Won and Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin, making their move into Valorant early.
In terms of H3CZ and hastr0’s rationale for big names hopping over to Future Earth from the likes of CS:GO, they believe that Valve is the biggest part of the problem.
Between the combination of over-saturated events and the lack of direct developer support for Global Offensive’s esports scene, the pair believe that players shifting over to Valorant is only natural.
With Valorant’s Ignition Series drawing to a close and viewership skyrocketing to over 100,000 concurrent spectators, it’s no wonder why plenty are looking for their slice of the Valorant pie.