Jamppi might switch to Valorant after Valve refuses ban removal

Fariha Bhatti Published 15/01/2021

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s young prodigy Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen may quit his job at ENCE, as reports say the player is considering a move to Valorant.

Jamppi has suffered a massive setback in his career due to a losing legal battle with Valve. The developer refused to allow Jamppi to enter any CSGO Majors due to a VAC ban in 2015. After a few lawsuits and missed opportunities, the player may finally step down from ENCE, according to a report by Finnish source Ilta Sanomat.

In his efforts to be free from Valve’s ban, the rising star of Finland has taken action before. His lawsuit against Valve alleged that he had never cheated on any of his accounts. When he was 14, the player offered that had purchased a copy of CSGO for one of his friends in 2015 and sold the account before it was issued a VAC ban months later. Some in the CSGO community have come out in the pro’s support time and again, but their efforts were futile. All of Jamppi’s pleas fell on deaf ears, as Valve refused to budge from its decision.

It seems that the VAC-banned CSGO pro has run out of steam, as the player is reportedly weighing new options. Since signing up for another CSGO team won’t solve his persistent issues with Valve, the Finnish player may choose to play Valorant instead.

ENCE may lose another player as Jamppi considers Valorant

The reports of Jamppi exiting CSGO further weaken ENCE’s struggling roster that remains without an in-game leader. The Finnish organization has recently been going through a rough patch after losing players due to severe internal issues. Jere “sergej” Salo and then Miikka “suNny” Kemppi’s departure left ENCE with three players on its payroll. With jamppi on Valve’s blacklist, not much could be expected from ENCE in upcoming CSGO tournaments.

pic.twitter.com/EfaeANHSAz
— ENCE (@ENCE) December 16, 2020

The organization has apparently geared up to fill its emptying lineup. Marco “⁠Snappi⁠” Pfeiffer, Thomas “⁠TMB⁠” Bundsbæk, and Tuomas “⁠SADDYX⁠” Louhimaa are three players that ENCE is reportedly eyeing for its 2021 roster.

Jamppi won’t be the first one to move. A herd of successful CSGO players have opted Valorant over Valve’s shooter. The 19-year-old has been streaming Valorant competitive matches on his Twitch channel, putting the FPL grind aside for a while. Looking at Jamppi’s past troubles, it seems that Valorant might have more to offer to the Finnish star.

ENCE CSGO roster if Jamppi steps down:

Aleksi “⁠allu⁠“ Jalli
Joonas “⁠doto⁠“ Forss
Eetu “sAw” Saha (coach)

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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