‘Deadlock sums up everything I want in a game’: here’s why AverageJonas is leaving VALORANT behind

One of the staple figures in the VALORANT esports scene, AverageJonas announced today that the Norwegian will quit streaming Riot’s shooter title on all platforms and making his way to Valve’s third-person MOBA shooter, Deadlock. 

“…When the Sova nerfs hit me pretty hard, it was pretty tough to stay motivated, and also, the nature of the game being a tactical FPS is that it kinda limits the theory crafting you can do, compared to a game like DOTA,” AverageJonas said while also citing health reasons explaining his reason to switch to another title in a recent video. “I think I realized if I wanna do this for many years, I gotta focus on what makes me happy,” he said. 

AverageJonas felt “unhappy” while streaming VALORANT, and the Norwegian said he tried streaming different games like Palworld and DOTA, which revitalized his spirit to stream games that made him happy, and he just wanted for the “next big game.”

That’s when, a month ago, AverageJonas was invited to a private playtest by Valve to try out Deadlock and felt it brought back his passion. “The more I play this game [Deadlock], I realized that it kinda sums up everything I want in a game and that I want to make content in,” he said. “It feels like an endless depth in stuff that I can dive into, teach people, theory-craft and fun with it, and it reignited the feeling I had when I started streaming,” he further explained on why he is looking to move onto Deadlock as his primary game for streams in the future. 

“I’m pretty terrified because this is my career, and I’ve seen many streamers switch games before, and a lot of times, it doesn’t necessarily go that well,” AverageJonas said about taking this leap of faith. 

AverageJonas’s career trajectory saw him start out as a caster and analyst in early VALORANT tournaments such as First Strike Europe, then becoming a content creator and signing with Team Liquid. He’s mainly known for his out-of-the-box Sova lineups, where he amazed the community with his creativity, who will no doubt miss his insightful commentaries on Riot’s shooter. 

In the meantime, if you’re looking to get into Deadlock, here is our guide to choosing the best heroes and outclassing your opponents!