T1 secure first Valorant pro after signing ex-CSGO player Brax

Valorant isn’t even out yet, but that hasn’t stopped T1 from securing the first pro player for Riot’s FPS title, signing former CS:GO player Braxton ‘Brax’ Pierce (formerly Swag) as a “creator and professional.”

Valorant might have only been announced last week, but teams are already cashing in on the craze. Riot’s upcoming FPS title looks to shake up the entire genre, and players are flocking from all over to get involved.

Capitalising on the massive popularity, South Korean organization T1 has secured one of the hottest free agents on the market right now ⁠— former CS:GO pro Brax.

The organization announced the signing of the North American FPS prodigy on March 9, with the intention of having the former CS:GO star play on their professional Valorant team as well as stream under their brand.

“T1 is excited to welcome Brax to the team as a creator and professional for Valorant, CS:GO and [other] FPS titles,” the organization said.

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“I’m excited to announce I will be joining T1 as their first Tactical FPS player ever,” Brax added. “I’m eager to carry my knowledge and understanding of CS over to Valorant as we both look to build the best team in the world.”

While Brax will continue to play CS:GO casually, he will no longer play competitively after retiring on February 28. He has his sights set on “being the best in the world” in Valorant, and has been hyping up Riot’s FPS for months.

Brax was the prodigal son of North America’s Counter-Strike, coming onto the scene back in 2012 and making a quick rise up the ranks. However, after being caught up in the iBUYPOWER match fixing scandal in 2015, he was banned from all Valve-sponsored CS:GO events.

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While he still competed all the way up until the end of last month, Brax was never able to show his stuff on the world stage ⁠— and he’s looking to do just that in Valorant.

T1 aren’t the only organization looking to cash in on the Valorant hype. Team SoloMid has already made their intentions clear about getting a team in the upcoming game, while others like G2 Esports have shown interest on Twitter.

Players won’t be able to see T1 and Brax in action in Valorant until its release in Summer 2020. While there are betas coming up soon, the game’s full release will likely mark the start of its competitive scene as teams scramble to get the best talent from the get-go.