NRG Signs ImAPet & Daps

NRG have announced that both Chet “ImAPet” Singh and Damien “daps” Steele have joined its Valorant roster, confirming rumours that first surfaced some weeks ago. The former CS:GO professionals were linked with a move to NRG alongside Sam “s0m” Oh, however no announcement regarding the Gen.G man has been made as of yet.

The arrivals of ex-Gen.G in-game leader daps and former 100 Thieves head coach ImAPet were announced on the official NRG Twitter page on Monday, a move which will see the duo reunite after over a year apart. Steele and Singh were famously part of the NRG CS:GO roster in 2019, before the former made the switch to Cloud9 in July. In his absence, Singh helped NRG in finishing fourth at the StarLadder Berlin Major, having eventually been eliminated by eventual winners Astralis at the semi final stage.

ImAPet Ends Speculation with Move to NRG

ImAPet has in recent weeks retired from CS:GO and signaled that a switch to Valorant could be on the cards, with such a move having now come to fruition. Unlike other organizations, NRG have not disclosed the terms of the contracts signed by ImAPet and daps, however Astralis’ Lucas “Bubzkji” Anderson revealed that they will be paid more than their previous employers were able to match.

Valorant has already attracted a host of former CS:GO pros, with many teams having built their roster using such talent. ImAPet’s former team 100 Thieves’ Valorant roster is made up almost entirely of CS:GO talent, with Riot keen to ensure that the game is successful in the eSports scene. With tournaments set to get underway again in the coming weeks, it will certainly be interesting to see just which teams hit the ground running.

Can Valorant Become an eSports Hit?

Changes to the game’s ranking system were announced at the beginning of the month, which should help to improve Valorant’s basis functions. Meanwhile, patch 1.09 should bring further enhancements, with Riot keen to ensure for a competitive balance. While CS:GO remains more popular on Twitch, organizations are likely to receive more money from Valorant. Professional CS:GO playes tend to take home 100% of winnings made at tournaments, while it remains unclear as to whether this will also be the case with Valorant.