One of the best Fortnite players in North America, Hayden “Elevate” Krueger, is transitioning to VALORANT.
100 Thieves, whom Elevate is still contracted with, announced today that he’ll be sent on loan to Beastcoast to compete in VALORANT. He’s on loan until the end of the year but could be bought out of his contract if he performs in Riot’s new first-person shooter.
Elevate will play alongside former PUBG player Jaden “Vegas” James, former Fortnite pro Jamal “Jammyz” Bangash, Tanner “TiGG” Spanu, and Brandon “Bdog” Sanders on the team.
Elevate leaves behind his decorated Fortnite past with this move to VALORANT. He was considered one of the best Fortnite players in the region. Most notably, under 100T, he finished third in the World Cup 2019 – Duo Finals alongside his partner, Davis “Ceice” McClellan.
Since then, he’s competed regularly in the Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter Two, season two duo tournaments with Shawn “clarityG” Washington as his partner. The duo finished in 23rd place in the grand finals after placing relatively well in the weeks leading up to the tournament’s conclusion.
Elevate isn’t the only professional Fortnite player who’s made the switch to VALORANT, however. Former player Austin “Morgausse” Etue said he’d make the move to VALORANT following his lucrative career in Fortnite.
Morgausse echoed some of the complaints regarding Epic Games’ handling of Fortnite competitive. “Epic Games has failed to maintain a truly competitive environment, and it has slowly made me hate the game as time went on,” Morgausse said on Twitter. “From bugs going unchecked for months on end, to how absurdly broken aim assist is, to the lack of communication to their competitive scene, Fortnite is simply not competitive.”
