NBK transitions to VALORANT

The "Kingmaker" has decided to take on a new challenge in the Riot Games first-person shooter.

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt is making a transition to VALORANT, the French veteran has announced in a video titled "A new beginning". The 27-year-old, a two-time Major champion, made his last appearance in Flashpoint 3 with DBL PONEY, the team he stood in for after his benching from OG in February.

NBK- rose through the ranks in the CS:Source scene, making the transition to CS:GO in 2012 as part of VeryGames, who established a fierce rivalry with NIP in the early days of the game. He won several international titles over the years, most notably the DreamHack Winter 2014 and DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 Majors with LDLC and Envy, respectively. He also made the HLTV Top 20 three years in a row between 2013 and 2015.

After playing for several different French teams, with varying degrees of success, NBK- embraced a change of scenery in 2019 as he became part of OG's first-ever CS:GO squad, featuring players from five different countries. He helped the team to runners-up finishes in IEM New York 2020 Europe and Flashpoint 2 before being moved to the bench following a disappointing start to the 2021 season.

NBK- has advocated for players' rights as part of the Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association (CSPPA) board. He is expected to relinquish his position on the council following the news, leaving Chris "⁠chrisJ⁠" de Jong as the only remaining founding member of the board.

“I have done it all, from local LANs to winning Majors, grinded through the ranks, and sat on top of the world," NBK- said. "I have lived the biggest disappointments and the best tournament wins.

"Counter-Strike gave me everything and I dedicated my life to it. But memories are made to stay in the past. It’s time for a change."