JasonR leaves FaZe Clan to start his own Valorant team
Joe Brady for Gfinity UKFormer CS:GO pro and FaZe Clan’s captain, Jason ‘JasonR’ Ruchelski has left the organization to start his own Valorant team after the 26-year-old claimed he had no say in who the roster signed.
JasonR was signed as FaZe’s first Valorant player on June 25, alongside Overwatch player Corey ‘corey’ Nigra. However, the captain of the roster is reportedly parting ways with the team just six weeks after his signing, citing he was excluded from all roster discussions.
JasonR has not featured for FaZe Clan since signing for the team, despite the organization appearing in the first Valorant Ignition Series event for NA in the T1 x Nerd Street Gamers Showdown.
Hey @PlayVALORANT. We're here.
INTRODUCING FAZE CLAN'S FIRST VALORANT RECRUIT:
Welcome, FaZe JasonR!@JasonRuchelski | https://t.co/Qa5rKivlYU | #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/gvXGSSdgyD
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) June 25, 2020
Zachary ‘ZachaREEE’ Lombardo, Johnny ‘Marved’ Nguyen, Rory ‘dephh’ Jackson and Harrison ‘psalm’ Chang, along with Corey, helped FaZe Clan place fourth in the event. Since then, FaZe has signed ZachaREEE and Marved.
Ahead of the FaZe Clan Invitational, and still without a full roster, the CS:GO veteran has mutually parted ways with FaZe. He is looking towards setting up his own team instead.
“FaZe Clan and JasonR have decided to part ways. He’s looking to build a Valorant roster and seek opportunities elsewhere,” the team said in a August 2 statement.
FaZe Clan and @JasonRuchelski have decided to part ways – he’s looking to build a Valorant roster & seek opportunities elsewhere.
We had a great working experience with Jason, and hope our paths cross again in the future! #FaZeUp
— FaZe Esports (@FaZeEsports) August 3, 2020
It comes after JasonR publicly stated he wasn’t practicing with the FaZe Clan roster despite being named team captain.
“Marved just got announced on the FaZe Clan roster, but I’m not playing for FaZe. I’m not practicing with that roster. I had no say in who they were picking up at all. I had no choice in the roster, and I’m not going to be forced to play with anyone I don’t want to,” he told fans in July.
“I’m not practicing with anybody right now. I was put into a weird situation.”
With JasonR’s departure, FaZe Clan is left with three players just three days ahead of the next Ignition Series event. Which just so happens to be their very own in the Ignition Series. While JasonR alluded that the team has been practicing with a full stack without him, it’s unclear whether they’ll be signed before the event, or play as stand-ins.
JasonR has also not mentioned who he has his eyes on for his own Valorant roster. He has poked at other teams like Sentinels on his stream, but hasn’t publicly made a statement about who he wants.