American esports organization Cloud9 has revealed that former CS:GO player Tyson “TenZ” Ngo will be switching from Counter-Strike to VALORANT. Riot Games’ new first-person tactical shooter has drawn in other former CS:GO players, including Braxton “Brax” Pierce and Keven “AZK” Larivière.
18-year-old Tyson “TenZ” Ngo rose up the ranks in the North American CS:GO scene, eventually getting his break with Cloud9 in July of 2019. The young star made his debut under the C9 banner at BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles, where the team managed a win over FaZe Clan and ties with MIBR and NRG. They fell to eventual champions Team Liquid in the semi-finals, ending their first event in the top four.
TenZ had two more LAN appearances with Cloud9, placing last at the Arctic Invitational and getting relegated in the North American division of ESL Pro League Season 10. TenZ was benched from the CS:GO squad in October, and later became a Cloud9 streamer and content creator in December.
In the announcement video, TenZ explains that he will be stepping away from Counter-Strike to pursue VALORANT instead. “I decided to make this change because, after getting access to the closed beta, I’d been having a lot of fun playing VALORANT,” TenZ states. “I just thought it’d be best if I changed games.”
TenZ is Cloud9's first VALORANT signing. He joins other former professional CS:GO players Braxton "Brax" Pierce and Keven “AZK” Larivière in pursuing the competitive VALORANT scene. TenZ will continue streaming his VALORANT gameplay on his Twitch channel, where he currently boasts over 77,000 followers.