Hiko eyes CS2 return amid ‘cringe’ VALORANT community
Streamer Spencer "Hiko" Martin has indicated a possible return to his roots in Counter-Strike (CS) for reasons that have spiked some heat on social media.
With the release of Counter-Strike 2 around the corner, the streamer has shared that he plans to move some of his attention to CS. As the 33-year-old shared, one of the reasons for this is that in his experience, the VALORANT community can be “a little cringe”.
Between two worlds: VALORANT and Counter-Strike
During one of his livestreams, Hiko shared insights about his journey in both gaming landscapes. He communicated a sense of nostalgia for the Counter-Strike community while pointing out his issues with the atmosphere in VALORANT.
“The community [in CS] in general is just better. The VALORANT community is a little cringe to me," he remarked.
In a reddit comment in which he elaborated more on his statement, he shared that he was mainly talking about teammates he encountered in his ranked matches. He wrote:
"When I said the community in VALORANT is a bit cringe I wasn’t even referring to the content creators either - everyone has their own unique style of content - I’m thinking more about the insta lock duelist one tricks who just run it down not trying to win/communicate/don’t care.
Maybe I’m jaded from being a pro and expect a lot from people who are similar rank of mine, but it seems counterintuitive to have a “ranked” mode that people don’t take seriously."
However, Hiko has assured fans that he's not leaving VALORANT entirely. He plans to maintain a presence in both games, continuing his streams in VALORANT alongside the upcoming Counter-Strike 2.
He elaborated on this in a Twitter post, "I definitely plan to stream some CS2 when it comes out but I won't be quitting VAL! Both games have some bad community problems but what game doesn't?”
Professional player to streamer: The next chapter
The announcement of Hiko's potential shift back to Counter-Strike has drawn mostly positive reactions. Some community members even agreed with Hiko on his reasons.
One of the Reddit top comments stated: "I do agree that the Val community can be pretty cringe. Like this sub is nice but the edater TikToks and “Valorant accent” streamers and their communities are incredibly cringe."
Hiko, who moved into content creation after a stint with 100 Thieves in VALORANT in 2022, promptly addressed these assumptions.
He responded to the critics, stating, “Also reading comments saying I'm washed and I wouldn't have a chance to go pro... I'm not trying to go pro again, weirdos."
Hiko had made a name for himself in Counter-Strike ranging back to at least 2011 in 1.6, later joining teams like Quantic and compLexity Gaming for his career in Global Offensive. He’s best known for his time with Cloud9 and Team Liquid during which he was able to win several domestic titles before eventually moving to VALORANT and teaming up with 100 Thieves.