One of the biggest stars in the history of Counter-Strike is set to transition to rival tactical shooter Valorant.
That star player is Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund. The longtime franchise player of Ninjas in Pyjamas revealed the news with a dramatic tease on his personal Twitter:
— Christopher Alesund (@GeT_RiGhT) December 26, 2020
It is unclear what GeT_RiGhT’s transition to Valorant might entail. The Swede was benched by Dignitas in September and has been sporadically streaming since then. The video played Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” in the background, suggesting that his intent is to return to esports at some point but it is possible that he is simply going to start extensively streaming Valorant.
Worth noting is that GeT_RiGhT is not a free agent at this time, and is still attached to Dignitas. He officially joined the team in January 2020 but may be able to leave in the near future if he was on a one-year contract.
Dignitas does currently have a Valorant roster, but it is unlikely that he will be transferred from one division to another. Dignitas’ Valorant team has been competing in North America and travel restrictions are likely to be a serious hurdle.
Either way, this is great news for fans of the CSGO legend. GeT_RiGhT left Ninjas in Pyjamas after seven years with the organization after a controversial and competitively flimsy year. He reunited with longtime teammate Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg on Dignitas, but the team failed to post a strong placement in a prominent tournament during that time.
Valorant has offered a number of struggling Counter-Strike veterans a second life in esports, including Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham, Joshua “steel” Nissan, Spencer “Hiko” Martin, and many more. Given GeT_RiGhT’s pedigree and popularity, he’ll almost certainly have no trouble finding a top brand to compete if given the chance.
After a lot of back and forth between the team and I, we believe this is the correct decision. I have long been thinking about my path and along with my current health condition, it was clear that now was the time to make a change. https://t.co/dyuVdVELws
— Christopher Alesund (@GeT_RiGhT) September 16, 2020
GeT_RiGhT has never officially retired. He was released by Ninjas in Pyjamas in 2019 before joining Dignitas four months later. He was removed from Dignitas’ CSGO roster eight months later but stated it was “time for a change,” rather than an end to his career.
After the first few months of Valorant’s existence, Counter-Strike converts have had the most success in the game. Dissatisfied players from a wide variety of esports including CSGO, Fortnite, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Apex Legends all transitioned to Valorant. Most of the top teams in Valorant to this point have been predominantly made up of players with a CSGO background.
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