Another CS:GO Legend Joins Exodus of Talent to VALORANT
Published: Dec 28, 2020 - Last Updated: Jul 23, 2023
Over the last few months, a number of professional stars who made their name playing CS:GO have announced that they are making the switch to VALORANT. Now one of the true legends of the game, Swedish ace Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund has surprised many by announcing that he too will be playing Riot Games 5v5 FPS from now on.
He joins the likes of Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom, Nicholas “nitr0” Canella, Spencer “Hiko” Martin, Oscar “mixwell” Canellas Colocho, Braxton “brax” Pierce and Fatih “gob b” Dayik who all made the switch earlier in 2020.
However, the news that one of the best CS:GO players of all time is set to make the switch is another blow for the professional scene in CS:GO and adds further fuel to the argument that developers Valve have paid too little attention to one of their most popular and important esports titles.
GeT_RiGhT’s Huge CS:GO C.V.
Just how big a coup this is for the emerging VALORANT esports scene cannot be understated and a quick look at GeT_RiGhT’s career playing CS:GO displays why this is big news. Part of the famous Swedish team Ninjas in Pyjamas that dominated the early years of the pro CS:GO scene, GeT_RiGhT was ranked the second best player in the world in 2010 and 2011 by HLTV.
By 2013 though he was ranked the best player and held that title for another year in 2014 too.
He was part of the Ninja’s team that managed to land an incredible 87-map winning streak in 2013 and they backed that up with a dominant display in winning the ESL One: Cologne 2014 tournament.
However, in recent years, as the CS:GO professional scene has diversified, new teams and talent has emerged and Ninjas in Pyjamas results did start to slow. GeT_RiGhT eventually left the team in 2019 and signed with Dignitas CS:GO team, alongside three former team mates from Ninjas in Pyjamas.
That move didn’t go quite so well and after being benched in September, GeT_RiGhT announced a short time later that he had new plans moving forward, which culminated in the announcement recently that he was to switch disciplines to focus his professional play on VALORANT.
A number of top teams are already believed to be clamouring to sign the CS:GO legend to their roster.
Why are so many players leaving CS:GO to join VALORANT?
It is a key question and one that Valve in particular would very much like to know the answer to. There have been a number of critics of CS:GO in recent times, many players complaining that the game has not been updated enough and that the game is now a little stale and the gameplay a little unappealing.
One professional who made the switch to VALORANT a while back Cloud 9 star Tyson “TenZ” Ngo stated that he felt CS:GO isn’t as enjoyable as it had been and that Valve had not introduced any new content to the game to retain its freshness and appeal for players.
That is certainly an argument with some merit with a number of other individuals prominent in the CSGO esports scene arguing that Valve need to do something drastic with the game to allow it to remain popular moving forward.
For Riot Games, the influx of top-level CS:GO talent now playing VALORANT is a ringing endorsement for their new game and while its esports scene isn’t anywhere near as developed as the CS:GO scene at present, the game has made a very positive start as an esports title.
These factors, combined with the chance for former CS:GO professionals to earn potentially more on the emerging VALORANT scene, are the factors driving the move and while the CS:GO esports scene remains very strong, this is a warning to Valve not to take those players and fans for granted going forward.
Since: August 10, 2015
