Nitr0 and NAF competing in the group stage of IEM Dallas 2023.
Image by Helena Kristiansson via ESL FACEIT Group

Nitr0 refuses to close door on esports return after CS:GO retirement

We could see Captain America again.

Despite retiring from CS:GO to focus on family and streaming, Team Liquid’s Nick “nitr0” Cannella hasn’t completely shut the door on a potential return to esports.

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“Captain America” is currently competing in his last event before retirement at IEM Dallas 2023, but revealed he will “consider” any esports offers from games other than CS:GO in the future, in an interview with Dust2 on May 30.

“I’m retiring from Counter-Strike, but I’m leaving my options open for other games and stuff,” nitr0 announced. “If I get an offer, I’ll consider it obviously, but as of now I’m just going to start my stream up and just try to just see where that takes me.”

At the same time, nitr0 shared he won’t be considering a potential return to CS:GO, since he’s “just not interested right now.” In the original announcement from May 26, the 27-year-old said he’s aiming to spend more time with his family, which is his primary focus—something that CS:GO‘s travel schedule doesn’t accommodate.

It’s tough to predict which esports scene outside CS:GO nitr0 could get involved in, though the most likely answer would be VALORANT, in which he already competed in 2020 and 2021. Back then he didn’t travel much due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with VCT Americas held in Los Angeles, it would suit nitr0’s needs if he ever plans to return.

Related: CS:GO fans name 2 perfect replacements for nitr0 at Liquid

Before retirement, though, nitr0 has his eyes locked on IEM Dallas 2023. Liquid are down to the lower bracket after losing to Astralis, and need wins over FaZe Clan and the winner of the Cloud9 versus Complexity matchup to qualify for the playoffs.


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Author
Mateusz Miter
Polish Staff Writer. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.