Valorant is a new esport yet it has managed to flock a ton of former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. Spencer “Hiko” Martin recently explained what makes Valorant esports better than the CSGO pro scene.
The first-person shooter realm had primarily been dominated by CSGO for a long time, until recently. Riot’s shooter Valorant quickly nabbed a large chunk of CSGO’s player base, becoming a healthy competitor in 2021. Hiko was also one of the players who transitioned to Valorant in 2020, and he’s finally revealed what sets Valorant apart from his former main game.
Former CSGO pro Hiko has found quick success in Riot Games’ first FPS baby Valorant, thanks to his incredible clutching ability. The 31-year old lurker has clarified that he still prefers Valorant’s pro scene over CSGO because it’s “less taxing” on players.
“I kinda like where Valorant is heading,” Hiko said. “CS got to a point where we were traveling (a lot). If there were 12 months in the year, you’re traveling for like seven or eight months, not at home. I think it’s probably better for everybody if the scene isn’t as travel-heavy as it was in the CSGO hay days,” Hiko said.
The pro player explained that CSGO tournaments could be “a lot” sometimes. Traveling without breaks, consecutive tournaments, and LAN events could be extremely tiring for the players. Valorant currently only has one major event in VCT that requires traveling for players. Hiko explained that fewer LAN events not only help players recuperate but it keeps the overall scene fresh.
“If Valorant is like how the league is where you don’t travel much, where you’re home a lot and just a lot of stuff on just big LANs are few… It makes LAN more impactful, more meaningful. It’s less of a toll and a tax on players who have families,” Hiko said.
Hiko isn’t the first player who has shown reservations regarding CSGO’s “oversaturated” esports scene. Many players have come forward and expressed their dissatisfaction with back to back tournaments, poor schedules, and long matches. Unlike Valorant, CSGO has a chain of Tier 1 events that require participation from teams to compete in a LAN environment.
However, there’s no certainty whether Valorant will remain this way once the travel restrictions are lifted. It’s still unknown how Riot Games will steer the esports scene of its blockbuster FPS and move in the same direction as CSGO.
Fariha Bhatti
About Fariha Bhatti
Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.
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