daps transitions to VALORANT

6-10-2020 01:13

The former Gen.G in-game leader has left CS:GO behind to return to NRG, where he will lead the organization's new VALORANT roster.

First reported by Rush B Media, the news confirms Damian "⁠daps⁠" Steele' reunion with Chet "⁠Chet⁠" Singh under NRG, whom the duo had previously represented for two and a half and one and a half years, respectively, and won IEM Shanghai and cs_summit 3 in 2018.

The Canadian in-game leader leaves CS:GO following a short period as a free agent. He stepped down and was released from his contract with Gen.G in mid-September after being unable to make changes to the team for the better part of the nine-month stint in the South Korean-American organization.

daps makes his return to NRG, this time in VALORANT

Although he hasn't ruled out a potential return to CS:GO, for the time being daps leaves a rich career behind as a veteran in-game leader. He is perhaps best known for bringing up the core of the current Evil Geniuses team, with whom he peaked at No. 3 in the world ranking in NRG as he led them to several deep runs at big events in 2018-2019 and the two aforementioned victories.

Before joining NRG in 2017, the Canadian also represented organizations such as Denial, with a lineup that Liquid went on to sign in their first entrance into CS:GO in early 2015, and Conquest, who became OpTic's first team in 2016.

thx god

2020-10-06 01:14

23 replies

Left CS:GO with 1 relevant trophies to his name What an ice cold legacy the 'best NA IGL' has left behind 🥶 Hope this helps

2020-10-06 01:30

22 replies

Wouldn't Nitr0 be considered the best NA IGL ? (or Stew or Tarik, whoever of those were calling when c9 won the major) ? Daps is a good IGL no matter what people say. But he was working in the region where tactics are often underutilized in favor of pure aim duels and puggy play. No matter what people say he should be considered a good leader and IGL comparable to Hunden in EU. Always mentoring new talent and make them a top tier player while he himself gets booted and receives no praise at all.

2020-10-06 01:36

15 replies

yea nitr0 then stanislaw then whoever IGL'd the major for cloud9

2020-10-06 01:40

8 replies

it was tarik i guess

2020-10-06 01:51

6 replies

I think it was Stewie calling for C9 in the major,that's why he's IGL'ing now

2020-10-06 02:00

5 replies

No it was actually tarik who IGLed at the major. Stewie did some calling before tarik was added to the team I think.

2020-10-06 02:09

2 replies

2020-10-06 05:27

1 reply

Daps is overrated bot. Only thing he did is just gathering good players and it happened only once in his entire career. C9 failed Geng failed

2020-10-07 10:41

no, i checked it and it was tarik. stewie took the role some time after major win. here's an interview about tarik igling at major: redbull.com/gb-en/csgo-iem-katowice-clou.. edit: stewie didn't take the role afterwards. i recalled that one wrong.

2020-10-06 02:16

1 reply

stewie was before Tarik and rush, when shroud + n0thing

2020-10-06 02:50

Stan overrated

2020-10-06 07:02

2020-10-06 01:47

yea

2020-10-06 03:46

I'd argue Steel was NA's best IGL since he was the complete package fragging very well and having a great mind for the game. Shame he couldn't attend majors and was shunned by the majority of the top NA teams because they wanted the chance to make it to majors.

2020-10-06 07:57

1 reply

100% Steel would have made it to the big NA teams if it wasnt for Valve's stupid ban

2020-10-06 13:06

2020-10-06 13:02

One fluke victory doesn't make someone a good igl.

2020-10-07 09:29

Cringe

2020-10-06 02:02

Well he made nrg relevant and quickly built a decent gen g lineup. Give him more time and he wouldve made them relevant as well. And he did it despite himself being a weaker player in terms of skill.

2020-10-06 06:04

I dont think anyone is calling him the best igl, he was one of the best at finding talents and building teams though.

2020-10-06 06:22

okay relax mr LUHG_Mike "hope this helps" headass

2020-10-06 07:49

1 reply

you spelt his name wrong pal Hope this helps

2020-10-06 08:04

tru

2020-10-06 08:26

Expected

2020-10-06 01:14

14 replies

RIP CSGO soon, there will be no players left

2020-10-06 01:28

13 replies

Just see the numbers in Twitch, valorant is a recent game with 40-50k viwers... Pushed by Hiko and Scream, dead game soon

2020-10-06 02:23

11 replies

wow it almost seems like people enjoy playing the game by themself rather than watching streamers

2020-10-06 03:38

8 replies

same goes for cs though i barely play any cs last 3-4 years but still watch pro matches

2020-10-06 03:56

2 replies

yeah i haven't played CS too for the last 4-5 months, i watch csgo pro matches on a daily basis but i've been having alot fun with the squad playing valorant, while watching valorant isn't as fun as watching the complexity of csgo, it's much more fun when i play it by myself

2020-10-06 04:00

1 reply

I do both as much as I can cuz I love it the same as when I started playing adn watching it to be honest

2020-10-06 13:05

Well, so you dumb, lul. Talk about competitive scene and dont see this number? Even further cs had the same public in steam graphics since valorant was released, thats it

2020-10-06 04:58

4 replies

you're comparing a game with a competitive scene that has existed for more than a decade with a game that got released 6 months ago that's still developing its competitive scene in an online era

2020-10-06 05:18

3 replies

Im talking that the numbers of lulrant decay so much. Like 80-90k to 40k, If you cant see this, sry

2020-10-06 13:06

2 replies

Of course man, people were actually trying the Riot shooter, the ones that didn't like, stopped playing. Still when CS and Valorant aren't having tournaments, the viewership of Valorant is higher than CS. The game is a baby with 6 months, no agent picks and bans yet, not even 5 maps, not even a high prize pool tournament, still tier 1 players are making the move. Valorant will surpass CS in less than 2 years.

2020-10-07 17:50

1 reply

If you think this... Ok LUL

2020-10-07 23:32

not all people lives in twitch imho, so that's a stupid argument

2020-10-06 09:00

1 reply

Just to start thinking, stupid

2020-10-06 13:01

Remind me again how many EU players (not even top ones just EU players in general) left for valorant? 2?3? valorant could kill or damage nacs quite badly yes but csgo, in general, is gonna be fine

2020-10-06 20:17

GOODBYE AND WELCOME TO GEN.G DEXTER "SEXTER" DEXTER

2020-10-06 01:14

4 replies

And then we'll have an Asian team haha

2020-10-06 01:30

They need another though, s0m is reported to join this NRG roster as well.

2020-10-06 01:55

1 reply

I just saw Striker tweet out your comment LOL

2020-10-06 02:43

Dexter + oBo kreygasmmmmmmm what a combo. A prodigy who has proved himself that he can contend against EU + a fragging IGL. That's fucking noicee.

2020-10-06 03:14

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2020-10-06 01:14

Stanislaw better

2020-10-06 01:14

3 replies

2020-10-06 01:32

+1111111111111

2020-10-06 01:33

2020-10-06 03:20

lmao

2020-10-06 01:14

expected

2020-10-06 01:14

Saddest day mens(

2020-10-06 01:14

2020-10-06 01:15

another one bites the dust

2020-10-06 01:15

expected

2020-10-06 01:15

BYE!

2020-10-06 01:16

next: Stanislaw announces Valorant move, to replace Daps

2020-10-06 01:16

2 replies

Next: He quits Valulrant to come back and sign for E United like all the other washed up shits.

2020-10-06 01:17

2020-10-06 12:03

Bye Dad

2020-10-06 01:18

expected

2020-10-06 01:18

Now the entire american region would be from Brazil

2020-10-06 01:18

1 reply

my dream

2020-10-06 08:41

Sellout!

2020-10-06 01:19

finally!

2020-10-06 01:20

irrelevant bot to a irrelevant game

2020-10-06 01:26

2 replies

2020-10-06 01:28

2020-10-06 05:19

kekw

2020-10-06 01:33

why should we hear about this, when it isnt counter strike related at all???

2020-10-06 01:28

3 replies

because we are a tolerant community mens

2020-10-06 01:38

Zywoo or s1mple moving to valorant and hltv not reporting it since its not cs related at all!!!

2020-10-06 11:55

because he is leaving cs which is cs related and the reason is valorant

2020-10-06 13:04

RIP

2020-10-06 01:34

omegalul

2020-10-06 01:35

Truly sad

2020-10-06 01:35

s0m when?

2020-10-06 01:36

The trend of only waahed up/ bad tier 2 na players going to valorant continues. Funny how tier 3 cs =tier 1 valorant

2020-10-06 01:38

5 replies

not really, Valo's best player doesn't even come from CS

2020-10-06 01:53

4 replies

who

2020-10-06 03:15

2 replies

Average jonas of course

2020-10-06 11:57

I don't know why my comment was deleted, but I said it was sinatraa and then someone came and told me he isn't. Then I asked who would it be then but the thread got deleted :/

2020-10-06 17:20

Lots os great valorant players don't come from CS. Sinatra is one of the best in the world, and he comes from overwatch. The best brazilian team is a world champion team in point blank.

2020-10-07 18:03

Gl. Underrated IGL

2020-10-06 01:39

-1 murican "pro" lmao

2020-10-06 01:39

great IGL but awful mechanical skills, good luck on Valorant

2020-10-06 01:53

5 replies

'great' 1 relevant trophy to his name throughout his lengthy CS:GO career. Hope this helps

2020-10-06 02:35

4 replies

so?

2020-10-06 05:33

so?

2020-10-06 08:58

Without daps, there would be no EG

2020-10-07 14:10

1 reply

Wow, tell him to add that to his trophy cabinet. Hope this helps

2020-10-07 17:56

F NA

2020-10-06 02:10

Every trash player (na mostly) accepting that there is no chance for them in cs go and running away full of shame but calling it a new chapter. A chapter where they realize that they are not pro players, just amateurs without talent

2020-10-06 02:15

No need to trash-talk anyone when he/she switches to a different game. It is their livelihood so they pursue whatever they want to do in order to make a living. That's what we can being an adult. Good luck to him.

2020-10-06 02:32

8 replies

huzzah! a human being.

2020-10-06 02:54

They will never get it. Most of people here are just kids/infantile minds

2020-10-06 02:59

5 replies

+1. They would be ignorant with their responses and call you out omegalul.

2020-10-06 03:16

4 replies

What's ignorant in calling a cow a cow? What's ignorant in calling a washed up player a washed up player? What's ignorant in calling a t2/t3 player a t2/t3 player? so you can't say a bad player is a bad player? That's some delusional shit lol

2020-10-06 07:54

3 replies

Metric, Metric, Metric smh. I meant ignorant in a way that they have to trash him out for moving into another game omegalul. There's nothing wrong with calling him washed up right because its facts.

2020-10-06 09:56

2 replies

Oh well my bad then. I wouldn't say ignorant but it's definitely stupid to trash someone for trying to make something of their career. But then again everyone comes to hltv to troll

2020-10-06 11:07

1 reply

I mean, there's some ignorance applied but it's all good brother.

2020-10-07 04:52

2020-10-06 06:48

Karrigan next

2020-10-06 03:34

1 reply

impossible not NA

2020-10-08 22:08

CSGO has lost another. Saddest day since HUNDEN Ban, and Steel retiring

2020-10-06 04:57

He will be missed.

2020-10-06 05:06

Another one NA reject

2020-10-06 05:23

Don't come back

2020-10-06 05:28

*Retirement home

2020-10-06 05:29

Daps nothing but a good dude who developed one of the best cores in the world currently and you are all shitting on him. The fuck is wrong with you people. Valorant is already putting up big numbers. It's going to be a comp game that gives CSGO a run for it's money. At this point that's pretty much a fact.

2020-10-06 05:35

26 replies

It's all about legacy. Taz is washed up af but he doesn't switch game because he know part of his remaining fanbase will turn against him. At least cs fandom only berate players who jumps game. Many football/soccer fans bash players who transfer to a rival club. "Valorant is already putting up big numbers." What do you mean? Not even their current 'tier 1' got big viewership.

2020-10-06 06:48

4 replies

wtf are you talking about? neither taz nor daps would do any of this shit because some people might like it or not. TaZ loves CS so he plays it, daps no longer feels the drive so he tries something new, whats wrong with that?

2020-10-06 15:27

3 replies

Taz said on HLTV confirmed that the reason why he didn't switch to Valorant is because it may tarnish his legacy as a CS player. He also added though that if Riot take franchise path, he won't be able to afford it. Just check the episode yourself. "daps no longer feels the drive so he tries something new" This is kinda untrue. IIRC after he benched himself in twitlonger he said he prefers to contiune in CS . My point is switching game could ruin your legacy and disappoint the fanbase, at least according to Taz.

2020-10-06 16:40

2 replies

on hltv confirmed TaZ said that he played valorant very little and just didn't like it, but yeah you're right about daps about cs in his twitlonger but imo when he said "i still love cs but im ready to do something else" then hes not that focued and determined anymore or he would not say that

2020-10-06 20:12

1 reply

I just rewatched the episode and pretty sure Taz said he actually enjoyed the game but "doesn't want to put his achievements and legacy on hold just to change platform" and would rather "share his experience in a game where everyone knows you" or something like that. It's at 9-12 min of the start of the podcast. You may want to rewatch it.

2020-10-06 20:58

>Valorant is already putting up big numbers. It's going to be a comp game that gives CSGO a run for it's money. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusion

2020-10-06 07:56

20 replies

Yeah that's why the Faze ingnition thing had like 180k. THat's CSGO numbers for like a Dreamhack. That's while the game is brand new and has no dev support for comp. It will be a competitive game you'd have to be blind to see otherwise.

2020-10-06 12:07

19 replies

180k ish total covering YouTube, twitch, fb, Chinese platforms etc. > That's while the game is brand new and has no dev support for comp. Brand new hence the hype brainlet, so I suggest you give this wiki a read. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusion

2020-10-06 12:24

12 replies

Don't be stupid dude. Look at the overwatch league or CDL. Games that were launched with multi-million dollar franchise spots. With huge developer and org backing. Do a comparison. Valorant home grown with basically no dev support is doing better. It's got nothing to do with delusion. It's going to be a big esport there is basically no doubt. earlygame.com/cdl-viewership-compared-to.. Also I'm not saying the game is good or bad. Personally I played it for a couple weeks and am back to escaping Tarkov after years of CS. That doesn't mean the games not doing well. Also viewership has grown from where the first ignition events were. It's not done a fortnite nosedive. These are pretty clear indicators. And there's no reason for the brainlet comment when you don't have a full understanding yourself. So go get educated.

2020-10-06 16:26

11 replies

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusion

2020-10-06 16:38

10 replies

Just bookmark this post and check it in a year. If numbers showing it has growing viewership that's better then OWL and the CDL and is on par with a mid-tier CS tournament with no developer backing then I'm not the one with a delusion friend. When Riot does step in and creates their leagues it will likely out-strip CS or at least be very competitive. Bookmark.

2020-10-06 16:52

9 replies

Some facts for you dummy: In online environment it doesn't matter if the tournament is Riot supported or not. All that matters are the teams participating and casters and production. The faze invitational had better casters, production than any of the ignition series (Riot supported) tournaments and also all the "top teams" were competing. So it doesn't make a damn difference whether it's riot supported or not. Stop being delusional Don't understand why you so obsessed with valorant tournament numbers and viewership. Insecure much? Can't enjoy a game without the validation that it's popular and all? Fear of being left out of the "cool kids club"? Go home 12 yo kid, you have lots growing left to do

2020-10-06 18:25

6 replies

I literally don't play Valorant. Stop projecting.

2020-10-06 18:48

5 replies

I play both games, and unlike you, I don't care one bit which has more twitch viewership and which more popular Grow up

2020-10-06 20:01

4 replies

Grow up? I'm having a discussion. Brainlet. You're the one who makes statements with no evidence and throws insults.

2020-10-06 23:26

3 replies

Dude is an emotional teen. I wouldn't even waste my time. As someone who has played cs for the better part of two decades its great to see another skill based fps with the potential to rival csgo. Valorant isn't dying and the competitive scene will only continue to grow.

2020-10-07 05:30

1 reply

#174 Learn to read

2020-10-07 06:44

You are completely right. The proof is that when neither games are having a tournament, valorant viewership is actually higher. When having tournaments, CSGO surpasses it, but that's because the Valorant competitive scene is a newborn baby, there are not enough agents for bans and picks, there are not even 5 maps yet, and the biggest tournament had a 50k prize, wich is a joke compared to CS prize pools. When Riot starts backing the competitive up, with a million dollar world tournament, when there are enough maps for a bo5, and when there are enough agents for picks and bans in competitive matches, the viewership will skyrocket. Every fucking cs player knows that Valve doesn't care about the game, meanwhile Riot is putting all their coins in valorant. CS is a game that doesn't actually change for years, the changes are small, for years the meta is the same, while in valorant, with riot lauching 6 agents and 2 maps a year, the meta will be constatly changing, the game will be a lot more challenging and more entertaining to watch. I give less than 2 years for it to surpass CS.

2020-10-07 18:11

You're comparing Fortnite, CoD and OW (games that already had decaying viewership) with a game that had a hype-based marketing pre-launch (alpha & beta) based solely on.... yeah... viewership. Your statistical analysis doesn't quite make sense, when you really put it in context. "When Riot does step in and creates their leagues it will likely out-strip CS or at least be very competitive. Bookmark." Also, this bookmark can't age too well, since Riot announced this about 2 weeks ago: espn.com/esports/story/_/id/29951645/rio.. Do some proper research, please... P.S.: I actually agree with the fact that Valorant will have a good esports scene, but it won't kill CS:GO. More than likely, in a couple of years when the player base crossover will sit at a significantly lower percentage, the game audiences will be quite different. The "apples vs oranges" analysis though, can't quite agree with that

2020-10-07 08:50

1 reply

I don't think it will kill CSGO at all. I think it's pure stupidity to think the game won't have a thriving esporst scene. My on the spot math might not be ready for a peer reviewed study but logic it out. Game hosts tournaments. Without league. Tournaments go up in views. Games that started with huge numbers and created leagues saw declining viewership to the point of near death. I don't know how else to put it.

2020-10-07 16:37

I don't know about Faze Invitational, but in the last Blast tournament it only gather like 50k viewers on main twitch channel, and It got like 20k viewer boosts thanks to being on twitch mainpage. I don't remember there is any youtube channel. "no dev support for comp." Lmao you realize that Ignition Series is sponsored by Riot right?

2020-10-06 16:52

5 replies

Yes they have ties you're right I made the point poorly. The point is that it's no LCS or LCK. They are small tournaments with 25k prize pools that are drawing pretty damn impressive viewership that's growing. If the game was hyped viewership would be high in the beginning and decline. The Overwatch League is a really good example of this. Anyway I don't even give a shit I don't play Valorant but to not recognize it's growth as a scene is to be blind. I don't know what else to say on that front.

2020-10-06 16:55

4 replies

"pretty damn impressive viewership that's growing" The thing is if you check twitchtracker, their average viewership is actually dwindling. Of course, they could reliving the hype later by introducing big franchise tournament, but if you actually follow their growth, it simply doesn't make any sense. Last time I check many teams don't wield full 5 players for months already. Dignitas only have 3 players, 100t have 3 players, NRG have 2 players, Heretics have 3 players, etc. Some of them actually being paid more than 20k/month despite there is not much tournament going. And instead of signing prospects like China Nguyen, Mamba Gaming, or even Absolute, they keep signing active or benched CS Pros while not immediately completing the team. It's as if they collectively tried to kill CS Scene or piss CS fandom. When even informed people like Spunj or Professeur got confused, you know something weird is going on behind the scenes.

2020-10-06 17:23

3 replies

I'm talking about tournament viewership. Twitch viewership has never been dominated by games like CS. That's the realm of the flavor of the month and BRs. Anyway. Bookmark the post. Game is so blindingly obviously going to have a scene I can't even argue it anymore.

2020-10-06 18:51

2 replies

Even World of Tanks or H1Z1 have an esports scene the question, therefore, is not if Valorant is gonna have a scene but how big its gonna get and I do think you're overvaluing a few things, mainly the viewership from one tournament, OWL had almost 500k viewers on their first game and look at them now, that number alone means nothing and tbh it doesn't look too good for valorant considering the early hype they had (their growth wasn't purely organic btw riot helped out massively just not in a conventional way). Also Riot already stepped in, just because they haven't created a league doesn't mean they're not hosting tournaments so that statement isn't true either. Valorant is gonna have a scene, I even think its gonna be decently big but to assume that it's gonna somehow be the next greatest esports of all time based on twitch viewership for 1 tournament while completely ignoring other factors that show an opposite trend isn't a compelling argument imo.

2020-10-06 20:41

1 reply

The point is the trend goes upwards for Valorant. It went way down in Overwatch. And it has not had a huge initial investment although it will eventually of that there is no doubt. I don't know how to make this more clear.

2020-10-06 23:31

Lowest skilled players go to lowest skilled FPS on the planet.

2020-10-06 06:04

bye, he wasn't any good anyway, absolutely not a loss

2020-10-06 06:42

Riot soon to rebrand their fps title to "valoRENTED" Check hltv

2020-10-06 07:57

Because Valorant makes more money. After Valorant's death, they will return.

2020-10-06 08:00

Valorant... yikes!

2020-10-06 08:09

Expected

2020-10-06 08:18

Sad

2020-10-06 08:21

another chance to jump between 20 teams.

2020-10-06 08:39

probably the best strategic igl in NA history, sadly never had the raw talent to back it up

2020-10-06 10:02

1 reply

optic replaces daps for tarik and moves stan to IGL, instantly becomes tier 1 team and top 2-5 team in the world and wins Tier 1 tournaments. Daps replaced by stanislaw in NRG/EG instantly tier 1 team top 1-5 and wins big trophies. He is a great IGL but a bit overrated

2020-10-06 10:05

Can the whole NA scene just move to Valorant? Or are we gonna have HLTV cluttered with news of every bad NA player moving to Valorant every week?

2020-10-06 10:05

1 reply

i mean if i keep getting the big dick pounded up my ass from EU players i would probably move. The real NA players that actually will improve are the guys from chaos who are commited (hopefully the arent cheating eventhough they are sus)

2020-10-06 10:07

Good bye legend

2020-10-06 11:20

Nice knowing you daps RIP

2020-10-06 11:25

This man has an eye for great talent! Why does he needs to leave CSGO and play video game for kiddos? He could have been a coach instead?

2020-10-06 11:25

1 reply

hahahhahhahahh

2020-10-06 12:00

Need news about new roster gen g, poor auti,bntet and koosta :'(

2020-10-06 12:08

R. I. P the last good NA IGL

2020-10-06 12:26

Rip NA

2020-10-06 12:53

daps transitions

2020-10-06 13:03

hahah he will be kicked in 1 month pretty sure he sucks at valorant to

2020-10-06 13:12

of course, a guy who never did anything expressive and was always a joke in cs scene, probably can be a decent valorant player, as valorant is trash lmao cya, hope we dont see daps name being mentioned ever again in cs, and he becomes a happy valorant pro and earn lots of cash gl mr daps

2020-10-06 13:20

2 replies

+1 very intelligent and respectful BR 😎👍

2020-10-07 18:13

1 reply

thank for being this respected polite and important persan my friend <3

2020-10-07 18:30

Another NA igl gone. F.

2020-10-06 14:32

Wait, why would you go to the org that has benched you for another player.. It is like going back to a new job of the same company even tho they already fired you from the other place.

2020-10-06 14:37

What a loser. Dead game and shit player

2020-10-06 14:40

hahahahaha all NA rejects going to that shit game

2020-10-06 15:51

I think good decision, he was really bad at the end in CS, and maybe it will be better in VALORANT.

2020-10-06 16:03

each tier3-10 player think in VOLORANT he will play better lmao

2020-10-06 17:09

hahahha what a biaatch

2020-10-06 19:38

Good Luck

2020-10-06 20:19

CS NA scene soon dead lmao

2020-10-06 20:54

OMEGALUL hahahahha

2020-10-06 21:21

Cant see how someone would like Valorant more than cs?? Its a freakin cartoon shitty Kids game like fortnite lmao, why would he sell hes career to a dead game that only will be interesting for minors and will only last Max 2 years..

2020-10-06 23:38

I hope he will enjoys her life as a women.

2020-10-07 06:55

ok loser. GTFO

2020-10-07 09:32

no change for me, NA CS and valorant is same horrible level

2020-10-07 12:08

Valorant > CSGO since cs is the same shit as 10 years ago cant even add aztec valorant new heroes new maps constant updates RIP CSGO fangays // Feel free to Cry.exe

2020-10-07 18:44