Stewie2K’s Transition to VALORANT and Potential Plans for 2023
When North American CS:GO player Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip took a break from competition this summer, many expected him to spend more time playing VALORANT as a full-time content creator.
Since then, Stewie has devoted himself to VALORANT, streaming 442 hours of the game compared to just two hours of CS:GO over the past three months, according to SullyGnome.
Not only has he been streaming, but his in-game performance has also been impressive. He currently holds a place in the top 100 of Radiant players in North America as of Episode Five, Act Three. He also has the fourth most total competitive wins among the top 100 players, with 116 wins as of Nov. 9. In October, he even reached the top five of all Radiant players, as per Tracker.gg.
Potential Participation in NA VCT Challengers in 2023
While much of this is speculation, there are rumors and reports suggesting that Stewie2K is considering professional competition in 2023, possibly through the open bracket qualifiers of the NA VCT Challengers.
Independent VALORANT reporter and freelance caster Flynn has reported that Stewie2K is supposedly teaming up with a group of former/current pros, including Jared “zombs” Gitlin, Braxton “brax” Pierce, Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty, and Ian “tex” Botsch. They are currently seeking an organization to pick them up. This information was observed through Sentinels sixth man SicK’s stream and former Sentinels analyst Dani Hashweh’s involvement.
In a recent stream, Stewie2K expressed his enjoyment of scrimmages and mentioned studying top teams like Cloud9 and 100T, as well as top players like Xeppaa and trent.
If Stewie2K continues to commit to scrims with this consistent group, it is highly possible that they could compete in the NA Challengers for 2023. With the opportunity for promotion to tier one through Ascension, it is not far-fetched to consider that a talented team with popular names like Stewie2K and his teammates could attract the attention of an organization prior to the start of Challengers play.
Stewie2K, VALORANT, NA VCT Challengers, esports