Braxton “Brax” Pierce, one of the best young talents in Counter-Strike history, has joined Korean-based organization T1.
T1 revealed today that Brax will be a content creator and future VALORANT pro player, months before the game has even released. The organization said he will still play CS:GO but he will not compete. Brax cannot compete in Valve-sponsored events because of his indefinite ban for match-fixing.
Brax retired from competitive CS:GO on Feb. 28. On Twitter, he said that he will pursue a competitive career in Riot Games’ upcoming first-person shooter title, assuming it becomes a mainstream game.
Brax said he’s looking to build the best team in the world before the game’s release.
“I’m eager to carry my knowledge and understanding of CS over to VALORANT as we both look to build the best team in the world. I couldn’t be more confident that we will accomplish great things,” he said.
This is the first time Brax has joined an organization outside of North America. Previously, he played under Cloud9, iBUYPOWER, and Lazarus. T1 is considered to be one of the largest esports brands in Korea because of its world-class League of Legends team, which features mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
In 2015, Brax, who was known as ‘Swag’ at the time, was indefinitely banned from competing in Valve-sponsored events after he and his iBUYPOWER teammates were found guilty of match-fixing. Since the incident, Brax has played in smaller tournaments and created a career in streaming.
The FPS community has reacted positively to the move. Three-time Call of Duty Champion Damon “Karma” Barlow hailed the decision while other T1 players, like Kurtis “Kurt” Gallo, were excited about Brax’s arrival.
VALORANT is expected to launch in Summer 2020, with an open beta likely arriving before that.
