Nadeshot explains why he stopped playing Valorant and returned to Warzone

Valorant’s Twitch viewership has been steadily declining of late and the game was recently overtaken by Just Chatting as Twitch’s most-watched category. There are several factors that play into this, but the biggest reason is likely because the game’s most popular streamers at the launch of the closed beta, summit1G and TimTheTatman, went back to streaming Sea of Thieves and Call of Duty: Warzone, respectively.

Now, during a recent Warzone stream, 100 Thieves founder and former Call of Duty pro, Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, explained why he stopped playing Riot’s tactical shooter. 

“I enjoyed Valorant, but Warzone just, it’s too good right now,” Nadeshot said.

“If I play a game of Valorant, and I get fried, man it’s just the worst feeling in the world, it’s demoralizing. Some kids are just cracked on that shit, and I just can’t handle it. Too old.”

The 27-year-old’s reasoning is understandable. Getting consistently outplayed in games like Valorant or Counter-Strike just doesn’t feel the same as getting outplayed in Call of Duty or other shooters that allow players to respawn instantly after dying. There’s a hopeless feeling that starts to creep in when you’re constantly getting one-tapped before you feel like you even have a chance to react. 

Let’s also not forget that Nade’s time with Valorant got off to a rocky start, as he was unable to stream the game when the closed beta launched because other esports teams felt that it would give 100 Thieves an unfair advantage in the competitive scene. Riot Games was then forced to revoke his early access.   

All in all, Nadeshot is far from the only one to move away from Valorant so quickly after the launch of the closed beta. In addition to the aforementioned TimTheTatman and summit1G, DrDisrespect and JoshOG also fell off it rather quickly.

It remains to be seen whether or not the official release of the game will bring Twitch’s biggest streamers back to the game.