One of the more controversial Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) players has officially announced that he’s making the swap to Valorant today. Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen revealed his decision early Tuesday in a tweet.
Who is Jamppi?
Jamppi is a 19-year-old Finnish CS:GO player who rose to prominence in 2019 with SJ Gaming. His team came in first place in the Finnish Esports League Season 6 and Season 7. In 2020, he moved to ENCE where he won the BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Showdown. ENCE fizzled out in the BLAST Finals and the ESL Pro League, however. Finishing eight place in both.
Despite his success with SJ Gaming and ENCE, his career was stunted by a VAC ban he received in 2015 when he was 14. The ban that Valve put on him restricted him from competing in ESL, Dreamhack, Flashpoint, or Valve-sponsored events. In 2020, he attempted to sue Valve over the ban but was denied by the court.
Hello guys, i hope you understand my english, and my decision! Terkkuja ! pic.twitter.com/kHhT7F6RDj
— Elias Olkkonen (@Jamppicsgo) January 26, 2021
His jump from CS:GO to Valorant
Now, in early 2021, Jamppi has officially declared that he is retiring from CS:GO to play Valorant. His ban will not carry over to Riot’s tactical shooter, and he will be able to freely compete for whomever he wants in any tournament. There will likely always be a level of scrutiny around him, however.
In his video tweet, he states that switching to Valorant will be a “fresh start,” and he also mentions the VAC ban several times: “I hope at least there’s nothing that can stop me, like any bans or anything.” He goes on to say that he hopes to be one of the best and mentions that he will be streaming later in the day.
Valorant teams will surely be quick to jump on the opportunity to sign Jamppi. His CS:GO resume is impressive, even considering his VAC ban. It will be interesting to see who he winds up playing for.
