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Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player and captain of Vision Strikers’ Valorant team Kim “glow” Min-soo has announced he is retiring from professional Valorant play on Monday, May 17. The decision comes after his side failed to qualify for the Valorant Champions Tour – Masters Reykjavík.
Rich Counter-Strike Career
The 33-year-old Korean is a known figure in the Asian esports scene. He had begun his esports career in 2008 when he joined a CS 1.6 team Lunatic-hai.
With the Korean side, Glow has finished runner-up at WEG e-Stars 2008 and IEM III Asian Championship Finals before moving to WeMade FOX and Project KR. He continued competing in CS 1.6 before transitioning to CS:GO in June 2016 with MVP PK.
Since switching over to CS:GO, Glow helped MVP PK establish themselves as one of the most successful Asian CS:GO teams. The team also featured at several international tournaments, where they picked up high placements.
Those include top-eight at World Electronic Sports Games 2017, semi-finals at the ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018, as well as finals appearance at WESG 2017 Asia Pacific Finals and a gold medal from eXTREMESLAND ZOWIE Asia CS:GO 2018.
In a shocking turn of events, MVP PK announced they’re disbanding their CS:GO team in April 2020 to focus on Valorant. Glow, and all four of his teammates – Kim “stax” Gu-taek, Goo “Rb” Sang-Min, Lee “k1Ng” Seung-won, and Kim “Ch2ese” Nak-Yeon (now Effina) retired and transitioned to Riot Games’ tactical FPS title.
Glow Calls It Quits on His Valorant Pro Career
After retiring from CS:GO, former MVP PK players teamed up under Vision Strikers. The team would end up at the top of Korea’s domestic Valorant scene.
Vision Strikers did not need long to establish themselves as the force to be reckoned with in the Asian Valorant scene. They set an unprecedented record of 104 wins, four draws, and only two losses.
Despite their immaculate success, Vision Strikers failed where it mattered the most. They lost against NUTRUN Gaming (0-2) in the VCT Korea Stage 2 Challengers semi-finals and got denied a ticket for the game’s first international event – VST Masters Reykjavík.
After failing to secure a spot for the Reykjavík Masters event, Glow decided to end his Valorant career. He explained his decision in an announcement video posted on YouTube.
“Some people may question my decision,” said Glow.
“But taking into consideration my age and the future success of our team, I think that this is the right time for me to retire.”
As an in-game leader of Vision Strikers’ Glow was a crucial member of the team. However, as noted by the Korean esports pro, he wasn’t satisfied with his performances.
Glow routinely posted the worst marks in the team. Although that’s nothing unusual for IGLs, Glow felt like he was holding his squad back.
“My time as a player was coming to an end, and I myself felt this the most especially over Challengers One and Challengers Two, where we ended up shocking a lot of people with our loss and where I felt that my ceiling as a player was at its limit,” he added.
VCT Masters – Reykjavík slated for May 24
The VCT Masters – Reykjavík will mark Valorant’s first international event, slated to kick off on Monday, May 24. The tournament will feature 10 Valorant teams who will duke it out for the lion’s share of the $600,000 prize pool.
Attending the event are teams from seven regions. That includes Sentinels, Version1, Team Liquid, Fnatic, NUTRIN Gaming, Team Vikings, Sharks Esports, KRÜ Esports, Crazy Raccoon, and x10 Esports.
Fnatic, KRÜ Esports, Version 1, and Crazy Raccoons will begin the Round of 10. Meanwhile, Sentinels, Team Vikings, X10 Esports, Sharks Esports, and NUTRUN Gaming – as the highest-seeded teams from their respective regions – all received a direct bye into the upper bracket quarterfinals.
The tournament will feature a double-elimination bracket format with all games played as best-of-three (Bo3). The grand finals, scheduled for Sunday, May 30, will be played as Bo5.
VCT Masters – Reykjavík Outright Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:
Sentinels (+250)
Team Liquid (+350)
Fnatic (+400)
Version1 (+550)
Team Vikings (+750)
NUTRIN Gaming (+1200)
Sharks Esports (+1200)
Crazy Raccoon (+2500)
KRÜ Esports (+3300)
X10 Esports (+5000)
The VCT Masters – Reykjavík kicks off a day after the conclusion of the 2021 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational. The tournament will take place at the Laugardalshöll Arena in the northernmost capital in the world.