After a long career in Counter-Strike, then Valorant, then Counter-Strike again, Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella will be officially retiring from both competitive communities.
After returning to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with much fanfare in 2023, the esteemed Team Liquid captain will once again be leaving the game’s esports scene. The player is best known for helping win Season 2 of the Intel Grand Slam in 2019, making him the only North American captain to do so. That makes Intel Extreme Masters Dallas, which Liquid has already been eliminated from, his final event.
This begs the question, will he once again return to Valorant?
When Valorant first released, tons of CSGO pros from both the tier one and two scenes made the switch to Riot Games’ new tactical shooter. Then-Liquid player nitr0 was one of such players, but he made history by being the first big name to return to Counter-Strike after a stint in Valorant. His recent announcement has fans wondering if he’s about to become the first quadruple agent in FPS esports history, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
The chief concern cited in nitr0’s statement was travel. The CSGO scene is located almost entirely inside of Europe, and any top team must either stay there permanently or constantly travel across the Atlantic to attend events. The North American scene is paltry in comparison, with a fraction of the prize money and few top-level teams.
However, Valorant’s North American scene is much stronger relative to CSGO. Several top teams call the continent their home, like 100 Thieves, NRG, Cloud9, and many more. Pro-level tournaments are much more frequent, making travel much less stressful for North American-based organizations.
Still, other parts of the statement hint at a permanent future in streaming. While nitr0 stated he did not have definite plans after CSGO, he did confirm plans to take his talent to Twitch or another competing platform. The player is known for his charisma, so a spot on the analyst’s desk could also be in store.
For now, pay attention to which tactical shooter he prefers to stream, and don’t expect a comeback for at least a few more months.
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