Nadeshot hits back at VALORANT critics: 'I Want To Win More Than I Want To Breathe
It’s safe to say that the story of Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag will be one that goes down in esports history, having gone from burger flipping in McDonald's to becoming an X-Games gold medalist in Call of Duty to founding one of the most successful organisations of the modern era in 100 Thieves.
Now living on top of the empire he has built, it would be easy for Nadeshot to cool off and enjoy watching his org compete, but there’s no resting on his laurels as 100 Thieves have earned a reputation of being one of the most cut-throat organisations to play for.
Having seen Los Angeles Thieves (100 Thieves' CDL franchise) become characterised in the Call of Duty world for making imminent roster changes it now appears that Nade has translated this message to his VALORANT team, and has now defended his management after receiving backlash for brutally dropping their recent acquisitions.
Nadeshot Defends Decision of 100 Thieves VALORANT Roster Changes
100 Thieves’ VALORANT roster headed into the 2022 Champions Tour with a fresh crop of talent, as the duo of Hunter "BabyJ" Schline and Adam "ec1s" Eccles came in to replace the FPS veterans of Joshua "Steel" Nissan and Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella - two members of the 2021 squad that won the First Strike tournament and came third at the Stage 3 Masters before falling just shy of Worlds qualification.
Click to enlargeHowever, after just two matches, the new talents have been released from their roles, including ec1s who migrated to America from the United Kingdom to play for the roster. The two back-to-back losses at the hands of Cloud9 and The Guard - the latter of whom also handed them a 13-0 whitewash - proved too bad of a start for Nadeshot, whose organisation has now dumbed them from the team and brought in loanees Sean "bang" Bezerra (from TSM) and Noah "jcStani" Smith (form Kansas City Pioneers).
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After the shock move stunned fans and the wider esports community for their brazened behaviour, Nadeshot soon took to social media and streams to defend their decision, admitting that, "I want to win more than I want to f**king breathe."
In a video posted to Twitter, Nadeshot said, "Obviously, I know it comes as a surprise that we are moving away from BabyJ and ec1s. First and foremost, I would like to say 'thank you' to both of those players. There is never, ever under any circumstances where I want there to be a situation where their involvement with our organization is as short-lived as this one."
"I would say this was a decision that we felt was necessary for success, or a potential opportunity for us to qualify for the future of 2022, and all the tournaments that are to come, and the format is just gruelling.
"To be honest with you, only two teams go to Iceland and basically, if you don't qualify, your year is done. So it's really a make or break and we just feel like we don't want to wait out the inevitable. We just felt like the way that they meshed just didn't fit well together and so you got to take a big swing."
Having seen the detailed explanation applauded, and the transparency admired - compared to Cloud9’s confusing roster change statements - Nadeshot continued his thought process on stream.
"It’s not an easy job. I’m not out there looking for pity and trying to sound like a martyr, but I don’t think people understand. If you think you want 100 Thieves to win, and I don’t mean to sound selfish because I love the organisation that we have built with the players, staff, coaches, and most importantly our community, if you the community want 100 Thieves to win, I promise you that there is not a single individual on this planet that wants this team and organisation want to win more than me. I want to win more than I can f**king breathe.
"I want this team to succeed, and nothing is going to stop us putting together the right people, whether that be VALORANT, League of Legends, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Fortnite. We want to ensure we have the best opportunity for that to happen."
The baby faced content creator from Call of Duty's peak years has had his fair share of benchings in the past at OpTic Gaming, although he would eventually find success with the right blend of people before hanging up his sticks for the business world. Only time will tell whether 100 Thieves’ VALORANT roster can succeed, but best believe that Nadeshot isn't letting one second go to waste in that pursuit.
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