Ninja Confirms He’ll No Longer Be Competing In VALORANT
Few people can harness enough skill in FPS shooters to glitter through a range of titles and become professional in the scene. For Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, his esports career lifted off whilst competing in H1Z1, before representing some of the top organisations in the world in a seven-year-long Halo career. Competing for the likes of Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Evil Geniuses, Ninja soon found stardom in Fortnite, swapping the plasma fuelled lasers for an aesthetic battle royale.
Whilst contracted to Luminosity gaming as a content creator, Ninja soon became one of the biggest streamers on the planet, whilst dabbling in the FNCS events - Fortnite's esports competitions. Whilst riding the wave of Fortnite to nestle himself millions, upon the launch of Riot Games' VALORANT, it was inevitable that Ninja would have chanced his arm to reach the top of the next gaming craze.
However, after competing for team Time In, Ninja has now left the squad and doesn't intend on returning to the competitive life any time soon.
Speaking to his stream, the 29-year-old said: "The other day I told my boy, and I told the team that I want them to find a replacement for me".
Why did Ninja Quit Competitive VALORANT?
Despite an obvious lack of rewards for Time In, it appears that Ninja's main motivation behind quitting is for an easier balance to content creating and real life.
Speaking on his stream, Blevins added, "I feel like it's such a big weight lifted off my shoulders, dude. Because, now I can stream whenever I want, I can get off right now if I wanted to, literally. I've been streaming for five hours. I could hop off right now and spend the rest of the night with Jess. I would have had to hop off 26 minutes ago for scrims if I was still competing."
"My whole life right now is much more open and I feel like I'm not weighing myself down".
What's Next For Team Time In?
Both of their previous ventures in the VALORANT Champions Tour have been thwarted by top-class opposition. Their first attempt at reaching the top 16 was squashed by NRG, despite just two rounds difference in both ties. Time In's most recent efforts were diminished by Stage 2 sinners in 100 Thieves, proving luck was not on Ninja's side in the seeding.
Who they will pick up for Stage 3 is yet to be seen. The qualifiers for the road to Berlin have yet to be revealed, with the stage being prepared for the Reykavik Masters later this month.
Both parties will likely benefit from the move now, with Ninja being able to focus solely on content, and Time In having a fully devoted fifth man.
Image via Riot Games | Ninja
