Steel dropped by 100 Thieves ahead of LCQ

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Steel 100 Thieves Masters: Berlin

100 Thieves have dropped in-game leader Joshua “Steel” Nissan from the roster and plan for Aaron “b0i” Thao to play as his replacement for the North American Last Chance Qualifier tournament in October, according to sources familiar with the team.

As first reported by Upcomer’s George Geddes, the move comes a few weeks after 100T finished 3-4th in Masters: Berlin, having done so through miraculous comebacks against Gambit Esports and Acend.

100 Thieves Steel
Credit: 100 Thieves

The team eventually fell to Team Envy, losing on straight maps including a 13-5 result on Ascent. For much of 100T’s impressive showing in the tournament, Steel was noted to have encountered difficulties while playing, such as being unable to provide directions to the team and not playing at a consistent level.

During the 2021 Valorant Champions Tour, 100T finished third in their region in circuit points, thereby missing out on qualifying directly for Champions, the league’s preeminent world championship tournament which is scheduled to occur in December. Sentinels and Envy were the teams who finished ahead of 100T.

As a result, the team will play the LCQ to decide the third and last NA representative for the final tournament of the year.

They will face Version1, FaZe Clan, XSET, Luminosity Gaming, Cloud9, Gen.G, Rise, ORDER, and Chief Esports Club in a double-elimination style bracket.

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As one of the pioneering members for the 100T Valorant roster, Steel practically lived all of its highs and lows.

He was a part of the initial success by winning First Strike and succeeding in Berlin but also endured some low points such as not qualifying for both Masters: Reykjavik and Champions. It’s unclear what his next move will be in his Valorant career.

Steel started playing Valorant competitively in September 2020 with 100T after spending a decade in Counter-Strike, starting from Source and finishing in Global Offensive.

Since then, he has led 100T to the forefront of NA and international Valorant, with the team earning the sixth most cash prize in the game’s history since forming, according to Liquipedia.

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