T1 has confirmed the signing of Sam “DaZeD” Marine as the newest member of its Valorant roster.
DaZeD is a former Counter-Strike professional esports player who was banned from competing in official majors due to his participation in the iBUYPOWER match-fixing scandal in 2014. He also played for teams such as Denial Esports and Quantic Gaming.
DaZeD switched to competitive Valorant earlier this year, a move that fans were already suspicious of due to a slip-up by Jacky “Stewie2k” Yip. It seemed innocent at first, but when it was revealed that former iBP teammate Braxton “brax” Pierce and DaZeD had been playing together for a long period of time, fans became suspicious of an official reunion on T1.
The leak prompted DaZeD himself to jokingly reply to the announcement Tweet with “And nobody suspected a thing.”
Fan reception has been quite positive to the news. On Twitter, many are excited about this signing, and are looking forward to one of their favorite competitors back on the professional grind.
The former CSGO pro started popping back into the spotlight after almost three years away from Twitch. He started streaming matches with Stewie2k and Kyle “OCEAN” O’Brien and showed that he remains a strong mind in the game.
Will DaZeD be the best professional player Valorant has seen yet?
DaZeD was quick to establish himself as a real talent in Valorant and many fans wondered what the future would look like for him. When he returned to Twitch, his temperament was different and he had a more low-key personality than his CSGO days.
Often the shot-caller, DaZeD seemed more mellow than in the past. Before his long break from the platform, DaZeD used to be highly critical of his teammates and opponents. Lately, DaZeD has had a calmer demeanor and it has seemingly sharpened his abilities as an in-game leader.
This news comes on the heels of Riot Games announcing the new dates of a new global competitive tournament named First Strike, which will take place from November 9-22.
