Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen, former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player for ENCE, has joined Team Liquid’s Valorant roster. He will be replacing the former in-game leader for the team, Adam “ec1s” Eccles.
Jamppi is one of the few players from CS:GO that was VAC banned before their professional career began. Banned by Valve in 2013 due to a conflict regarding an account he had sold, it was unclear whether Jamppi himself had been using cheats or if someone else had done so on his account. Valve does not bend the rules of their bans to fit professional players in the scene.
Four years after Jamppi was VAC banned, he began his professional career on an amateur team called REHTI. He moved through several amateur teams, such as SuperJymy and SJ Gaming, before joining ENCE in 2020. ENCE is a Finnish organization that has competed at the top echelon of European CS:GO. His ban prevented him from attending Valve sponsored events, which included Majors and Minors. This forced ENCE to let him go at the start of December.
Jamppi forces Team Liquid to change its playstyle
Team Liquid will be replacing ec1s, the former in-game leader, with Jamppi. As Jampii has never led a team before, someone else will have to pick up the leader role for Liquid. Jamppi also primarily used the Operator while on ENCE, and he is expected to use this again while on Liquid.
This is the moment you've been waiting for…
Welcome to the Team @Jamppicsgo pic.twitter.com/vPYi9iaBjk
— Team Liquid Valorant (@LiquidValorant) February 25, 2021
Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom previously played Operator and Jett for the team that will now become Jamppi’s agent. ScreaM confirmed this switch shortly after the announcement, saying that he would become a Reyna main. Liquid has severely underperformed since entering the competitive Valorant scene. The last time they placed second was during the Red Bull Home Ground, when they lost to G2 Esports. Jamppi’s addition to the end does not mean that the problems will be fixed for Liquid, especially with the changes being made.
You can watch Jamppi and Liquid perform at the Valorant Champions Tour on Twitch or YouTube: Europe Stage 1 Challengers 3. The event will take place from March 6-7.
