Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro players have won almost all of Valorant’s cash prizes since the game’s esports debut.
Counter-Strike players that have switched from Valve’s shooter to Valorant esports make up 88% of the game’s top prize winners. The top ten teams in prize money for Riot’s ability-based tactical shooter are enjoying the skills of CSGO’s deep talent pool, with 44 out 50 players on those teams having started their careers in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Leading the list is G2 Esports, whose roster has won $94,373 since playing in its first Valorant tournament on July 12.
Team SoloMid has won $73,000 and is currently in second place all-time thanks to another Valorant roster comprised of former CSGO pro players. TSM’s young stars Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik and Matthew “Wardell” Yu are supported by three Counter-Strike veterans, most notably James “hazed” Cobb, who has played Counter-Strike professionally since 2007.
While CSGO is overwhelmingly the first stop for organizations looking to pick up fresh talent for Valorant’s quickly growing esports scene, Overwatch and Fortnite are also represented in the list. Overwatch has four former pro players among Valorant’s ten winningest teams, followed by Fortnite with two.Â
10. Ninjas in Pyjamas – $17,377
The deeper fans look into the who organizations are signing their Valorant rosters, they will find names that made CSGO esports famous. This is especially true for teams such as 100 Thieves, who is slowly building a roster based on CSGO’s veteran talent before it enters competitive play. Currently, 100 Thieves has signed a combined 23 years worth of CSGO experience in Spencer “Hiko” Martin, Nick “nitr0” Cannella, and Joshua “steel” Nissan.
America’s captain has a new look.
Welcome @nitr0 to 100 Thieves VALORANT. #100T pic.twitter.com/jda8wQgMuF
— 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) August 14, 2020
While fans can’t know whether or not their favorite CSGO player will switch games or not, G2 Esports founder Carlos “ocelote” Santiago recently weighed in on G2’s early success in Riot’s first-person shooter in addition to giving his thoughts whether or not he thinks Valve and CSGO can keep pace with Valorant’s exploding popularity. G2 has won seven tournaments in a row, proving that a tweet from former Overwatch pro FĂ©lix “xQc” Lengyel slamming CSGO players transitioning between the two games might have been a little hasty.
After Riot announced Valorant’s open beta, xQc took to Twitter in all capital letters to say that CSGO pros wouldn’t find much success in the shooter.
HOT TAKE: ALL THE WASHED UP CSGO “PROS” WILL TRY TO GO PRO IN VALORANT LIKE THEY DID IN OVERWATCH THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT REZ, SHIELDS AND THAT THE GAME REVOLVES AROUND MORE THAN SIMPLY SHOOTING A GUN AND ULTIMATELY QUIT.
— xQc (@xQc) March 3, 2020
It turns out that xQc’s Valorant “hot take” was dead wrong.
Valorant’s gunplay and mechanics are very similar to those found in CSGO. Players should check out WIN.gg’s continued coverage of Valorant, CSGO, and everything in between. From statistical data that shows just how one-sided Valorant’s maps really are to the latest roster news coming out of T1’s lineup, there’s something for everyone. Players who want to improve should head on over to our list of the best plant spots on Ascent, while CSGO players thinking about trying out Riot’s shooter should definitely give our spray pattern analysis a good read before hopping into the game.
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