Ninja Makes Impressive Debut in VALORANT Esports

Known as one of the biggest Esports streamers in the world today, it is easy to forget that Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is also a match for many in professional tournaments.

The Canadian has been successful in Halo, Fortnite and PlayUnknown’s Battlegrounds in the past, while his debut in VALORANT suggests that this could be another scene in which he excels.

Ninja’s VALORANT team is made up by Kurtis “Kurt” Gallo, Gregory “Grego” McAllen, Austin “Morgausse” Etue and Dani, with the lineup having been known as Time In and 100 Blifted already during its short history. Competing at the JBL Quantum Cup, Ninja and Co defeated the much fancied FaZe team.

How Ninja’s VALORANT Team Came About

The current lineup has peen practicing and competing together for around two months, with Jaden “Vegas” James and Alexander “LeX” Deily having previously been on board. This time together is clearly paying off, while it has been suggested that Shawn “witmer” Taylor has been coaching the team, with the Counter-Strike professional having retired from competing earlier this year.

Ninja’s team has taken part in qualifiers and showmatch events for the most part to date, with the JBL Quantum Cup having been the first official VALORANT competition in which they competed in. Despite their victory over FaZe Clan, defeats against both Team Envy and 100 Thieves meant that they were ultimately eliminated at the group stage via tiebreaker.

Morgauuse made his name in Fortnite, winning the 2018 Summer Skirmish, earning himself $225,000 in the process. Meanwhile, Grego was a leading Overwatch player for Cloud9, before making the switch to VALORANT. Elsewhere, Kurt was formally a top Apex Legends player, having represented T1 in North America. There, he won a host of tournaments, including the T1 X FACEIT Apex Legends Invitational. He joined the T1 Academy upon his switch to VALORANT, before the organisation dropped the team back in June. Last but not least, Dani is a 21-year-old streamer who has achieved relatively little in Esports to date.

Will We See Ninja Competing in VALORANT Regularly?

It remains to be seen as to just how often Ninja will compete in VALORANT, with his main source of revenue undoubtedly being content creation. However, should his team continue to pick up results along the way, it could well be that we see the popular personality pop up in events from time to time.