Valorant is a young discipline that emerged relatively recently compared to its main competitor, Counter-Strike. Many professional and amateur players, after the release of the shooter by Riot Games, decided to at least try their hand at the new game. In this article, we will look at the top Valorant players who previously competed on the professional Counter-Strike scene.
Tyson "TenZ" Ngo
Let's start our list with one of the most popular players in Valorant — Tyson "TenZ" Ngo from the Sentinels team, who recently played his hundredth match for this organisation. Before the release of Valorant, like all other players listed in this article, he played professionally in Counter-Strike. He began his professional career in 2017, but over three years did not achieve significant results in Counter-Strike, earning only $15,000 in prizes, which is $135,000 less than in Valorant for the same period. The most notable tag under which he performed in CS was Cloud9, symbolically, as it was his first professional team in Valorant after transitioning from another discipline.
Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov
Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov is a CS legend who dedicated over 15 years of his life to the game. He is a five-time participant in the most prestigious Major tournaments. Since 2020, he has been winning the hearts of fans in Valorant, despite his age, as a cyber athlete. Currently, the 34-year-old captain of NAVI in Valorant still has a big goal - to lift the most coveted cup in this discipline, namely the Valorant Champions. Despite playing professionally in Valorant almost three times less than in Counter-Strike, he has already managed to win $114,000 in prize money, which is $74,000 less than in CS.
Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom
Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom, one of the well-known and popular players in Counter-Strike, decided to switch disciplines after the release of Valorant. He gained his popularity thanks to incredible headshots, having the highest number of headshots in the professional arena, and his standout moments are widely shared online. Currently, he does not represent any team in Valorant, but has already played for such well-known organisations as Team Liquid and Karmine Corp and has won $88,000 in prize money. Now he is actively involved in personal live streaming, but there is a high probability of his return to the professional level.
Ethan "Ethan" Arnold
One of the champions of 2023 also played in Counter-Strike before the release of Valorant. We are talking about Ethan "Ethan" Arnold, who not only played in the Valve discipline but also achieved decent results. During his five-year career, the player earned over $390,000 in prize money. After that, he switched to Valorant and in the first two years became the world champion, winning with Evil Geniuses at Valorant Champions 2023. Currently, the player competes for another American team, namely NRG, with which he confidently performs in the American partnership league and has every chance to qualify for the second most prestigious tournament in a row.
Trio from Paper Rex
The core of the Singaporean organisation Paper Rex, namely Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto, Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart, and Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee, initially played for the same organisation, but in the discipline of Counter-Strike. In February 2021, all of them together switched to Valorant and began their thorny path to the world championship in the new discipline. They were very close to achieving this title last year, finishing second at Valorant Champions 2023, and losing in the grand final to Evil Geniuses. Each of them has earned more than $200,000 in prize money.
Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro
Another player from the American team Sentinels, who recently won VCT 2024: Masters Madrid, Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro, tried his hand at CS for four years before the release of our favourite game. During this period, his biggest achievement was second place at the ELEAGUE Invitational 2019 with Cloud9, and the total prizes he won for this period amounted to $41,000, which is half as much as in Valorant for four years. The player does not plan to stop there and aims to achieve his first participation in the world championship, which is most likely to happen this year, as Sentinels lead the table for Americas Points with a significant lead.
READ MORE: Best matches by viewership in Valorant
Óscar "mixwell" Cañellas
Oscar "mixwell" Cañellas is a well-known player in Counter-Strike and Valorant, who has achieved significant results in both disciplines. He spent eleven years of his life on these games, starting his professional activity around 2012. In 2020, he switched from CS to Valorant and ended his professional career in 2023. From both disciplines, he earned over $300,000 in prize money. Currently, he is an official streamer for the organisation Team Heretics, the colours of which he defended until the end of his career.
Pujan "FNS" Mehta
Another legend of American CS tried his hand at Valorant, but currently, Pujan "FNS" Mehta has taken a break from his professional player career and is a content creator for the organisation G2 Esports. In four years in Valorant, which is half as much as he spent on Counter-Strike, the player managed to earn more prize money, namely $190,000 USD, and was one step away from lifting the world champion's cup in 2022. At that time, he competed for OpTic Gaming, and in the grand final, he lost to the Brazilian team LOUD with a score of 3:1. After that, he moved to NRG, with which he played one more season, but then took a break from the professional scene. He recently announced his joining G2 Esports as a streamer.
Victor "Victor" Wong
Victor "Victor" Wong, also known as “food”, like other participants in this list, professionally played Counter-Strike for six years as a sniper and earned $44,000 during this period. In 2020, he signed an official contract with T1 and moved to the new discipline for him. Victor is a former teammate of FNS, so, like him, he was close to the title in 2022. Currently, he defends the colours of the American organisation NRG, where star players gathered before the start of the 2024 season and has every chance to reach the fourth Valorant Champions in a row.
Kim "Lakia" Jong-min
The player started his professional career in 2016 when he was just 15 years old. During four years in Counter-Strike, he did not achieve significant results, so he decided to change his discipline to Valorant. In the first months in the new game, he was able to join a professional team. Over four years in the new game, he earned over $70,000 in prize money. Currently, his team, Gen.G Esports, is the main leader in the Pacific region, and at the last international tournament - VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Madrid - he and his team took second place.
These players, listed in this list, are not all who were previously professional in Counter-Strike but are now successfully performing at a high level in Valorant. They are some of the most experienced, popular, and titled. Visit the "Articles" tab on our website bo3.gg to find even more interesting content from the world of Counter-Strike and Valorant.
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