While Overwatch has dominated the eSports scene since its debut in 2015, it may have finally met its match. Riot Games' new title Valorant built up a dedicated community during its exclusive closed beta phase, and drew in many FPS fans looking for a fresh take on the genre. However, after its extremely popular first week on Twitch, Valorant seems to be attracting many professional gamers to its growing competitive scene.
Houston Outlaws player Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty is the most recent Overwatch player to announce that he will transition to playing Valorant professionally. After a four year run where he played for several notable teams and represented the U.S. in the Overwatch World Cup, Flaherty announced his official retirement from the professional Overwatch scene.
In a statement on Twitter, Flaherty recounted the highlights of his eventful career, from his initial time with FaZe Clan to his three years with the Houston Outlaws and his eventual victory as an Overwatch World Champion. After thanking Blizzard, his community, family, friends and fans, Flaherty promised "more exciting news about [his] future" to come. However, for now, Rawkus intends to begin streaming Valorant regularly on his Twitch channel. Speaking about his enthusiasm for the game, Flaherty said the game reminded him of his childhood playing CS:GO. Specifically, he said Valorant combined the classic shooter's strong aiming system with ability usage.
When examining his statement, Flaherty's retirement and move to Valorant appears to come from both a sense of satisfaction with his time playing Overwatch. After all, Rawkus noted how happy he was that Overwatch's popularity allowed its competitive leagues to have localized teams. Moreover, Rawkus' retirement comes while the industry is in the midst of its own transitional phase. Currently, Overwatch League teams are beginning to change up their rosters.
As Rawkus embarks on the next stages of his career, many fans and fellow players came out to wish the eSports player well. Many called Flaherty a legend and wished him luck with his new streaming career. Flaherty is also joining up at an excellent time for the shooter, as Riot Games recently announced a revamp to Valorant's ranked play system.
Valorant is available now on PC.
Source: Shane Flaherty/Twitter