Valorant – Steel removed from 100 Thieves roster

Reports over the weekend suggested that 100 Thieves had parted ways with Joshua “steel” Nissan, with Aaron “b0i” Thao set to stand in for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Last Chance Qualifier as a result. The news was initially broken by Upcomer, however there has been no official announcement by the American organization as of yet.

Steel joined 100 Thieves in September 2020, also taking the responsibility of acting as in-game leader in the process. However, with b0i having joined the org as a substitute back in July, the former Andbox player will now seemingly be given his chance to shine. In the absence of steel, it is understood that Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella will take over as in-game leader.

Why Steel’s exit from 100 Thieves would not be a major surprise

100 Thieves were eliminated from the VCT Masters Berlin event at the semi-final stage, following a defeat to Team Envy. While their showing as a team during the tournament was ok, steel struggled throughout. The British-Canadian pro finished the event with a K/D of 0.79, which was part of the reason as to why 100 Thieves did not go further in the tournament.

Steel was quick to lament his own performance, stating that he “couldn’t focus and was drawing blanks”, to the detriment of his team. 100 Thieves’ loss at the hands of Envy was doubly disappointing, given the fact that a win would have secured them a spot at the Grand Finals. However, 100 Thieves were second best in all areas, only winning five rounds on Haven, before suffering a 13-8 defeat on Ascent.

When can we expect an announcement from 100 Thieves

The team will have another opportunity to reach the finals in December, when they take part in the Last Chance Qualifier. It is likely that 100 Thieves will reveal its roster for the event in the coming weeks, with other changes having not been ruled out. The current roster is made up by Spencer “Hiko” Martin, nitr0, Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk, Ethan “Ethan” Arnold and b0i. Quan “dicey” Tran remains an inactive member of the roster, despite having not featured since February.

It has been a series of near missed for 100 Thieves of late. The team finished as runner-up at the VCT 2021: North America Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs, having previously come third at the Stage 3 Challengers 1 event. The org’s biggest success in the Valorant scene to date remains their huge success at the First Strike event back in December last year.