NRG Esports have officially announced their entrance into Valorant by signing Chet “ImAPet” Singh and Damian “Daps” Steele. Both were previously under the NRG banner for CS:GO back in early 2017. Now they’ve re-joined the team to build their roster for Valorant.
NRG Esports CEO’s Hector Rodriguez and Andy Miller spoke about entering Valorant a few weeks ago on the NRG Duo podcast. They spoke about how Valorant was currently too expensive to enter with player salaries being upwards of $30,000 a month. Another issue NRG had with entering the scene was the talent that was being picked up. Many teams had already been fleshed out already with big names from CS:GO.
100 Thieves comes to mind considering they picked up three veterans from the scene. Spencer “Hiko” Martin, Josh “Steel” Nissan, and Nick “Nitr0” Cannella were all top in-game leaders with countless offers. This made it difficult for prospecting teams to enter the scene with veteran talent. However, the acquisition of Daps is still a solid pickup for NRG.
NRG look to build another super-roster
NRG Esports has not been known for cutting corners with their professional rosters. The San Francisco Shock is regarded as one of the best teams in the Overwatch League. Just last year the San Francisco Shock was the Overwatch League Champions. The Chicago Huntsmen, also owned by NRG, recently placed 3rd at the 2020 Call of Duty Championship.
Daps has been playing CS:GO since 2012, and since then has placed for several prestigious organizations. However, he has not been actively playing since his time on NRG back in 2019. Valorant’s creation has given several talented players like Daps the chance to continue to compete in major tournaments.
Welcome home @daps and @chetsingh Let's get this Valorant team started. pic.twitter.com/6Es9SSGUK5
— NRG (@NRGgg) October 5, 2020
ImAPet recently retired from CS:GO after his short-lived time coaching for 100 Thieves. His team recently came 2nd at ESL Pro League Season 12 against Furia. Unfortunately, the team’s lack of progression forced him to look elsewhere for work. There were several rumors that surfaced about ImAPet wanting to enter Valorant. Now he has officially returned to NRG Esports to coach Daps once more.
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