Josh Nissan was a content creator and streamer of Riot’s hot new first-person shooter, Valorant, for roughly a week before Chaos EC has made a new announcement: Steel is finally leaving the organization for good.
It’s both unfortunate and inevitable, as Steel had been permanently banned from Valve-sanctioned matches after the 2014 iBP match-fixing scandal that rocked the Counter-Strike scene. In spite of the heft of fallout from the incident, Josh continued in the path of Counter-Strike as an IGL for Chaos EC, growing and nurturing a young team that has had astonishing results.
Now, 100 Thieves has announced that they’re picking up Mr. Nissan as the third member of the roster that is frankly filled with legendary names of the CS scene: Hiko, nitr0, and now Steel are core members of a roster that is shaping up quickly to be a frightening contender, presuming that the rumors of CS:GO players simply being the best competitive esport players in the world are true.
That’s satire, in case you find yourself constantly referencing a guide to figure out how to crucify indie writers for a hobby.
Today @JoshNissan has been transferred to @100Thieves to compete in Valorant.
While we would have loved to keep him for our own long-term Valorant plans, we also always want our players to do whatever they feel is best for them.
Good Luck & 🅱️uck Youhttps://t.co/daR9wEP2GC pic.twitter.com/FAI3EC8gkR
— Chaos EC (@ChaosEC) September 4, 2020
What this immediately means is that 100 Thieves is actually slowly building up what appears to be a very strong roster, if based on nothing further than the weight of names that are currently present.
From late-night streams of nitr0, you can find a constantly revolving string of players that will play with him consistently, not necessarily shining a light on what 100T could be planning from the future.
It’s plausible, however, that the remaining two members will likely be pulled from CS:GO scene in spite of statements from Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin saying they aren’t necessarily only looking for former Counter-Strike pros.
Announcing the newest addition to our VALORANT roster: Steel.@JoshNissan is an incredibly skilled & talented player from the Counter-Strike scene. We’re so excited to start a new chapter of his competitive career with him in VALORANT. Welcome to 100 Thieves! #100T pic.twitter.com/qZyGKhnZG4
— 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) September 4, 2020
There’s definitely something to be said, however, for having your team all coming from the same platform with brutal practice routines, a litany of matches occurring around the clock and world, and the insanely high rush of being stuck in a 1v4 clutch and somehow managing to achieve victory within it.
This looks to be a relatively long and drawn-out process in the future, however, as 100 Thieves take note of who is rising within the scene and which players could be a good fit for the organization.
As far as Chaos is concerned, however, they offered a fitting video for their IGL that stuck with the team through multiple roster changes, and the organization did well to offer the player an appropriate public farewell. Now, it’s time to see whether Chaos EC can maintain the mantle offered by Steel with its newest lineup.