Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella has signed with 100 Thieves to compete as part of their pro VALORANT roster.
The move is a part of a reconstructing of the entire 100 Thieves lineup, which will be built around the tandem of nitr0 and former Counter-Strike teammate Spencer "Hiko" Martin. The two played together on the Team Liquid Counter-Strike squad that made the finals of a major championship, the equivalent of the game's world championship, in 2016 when they ended up as runners-up at ESL: Cologne.
The move to 100 Thieves comes after a quick but eventful negotiating period, during which nitr0 received numerous offers from organizations trying to sign him. Although various tier 1 organizations vied for nitr0, sources say 100 Thieves offered the best package to the former Team Liquid in-game leader, in terms of both money and the ability to create a roster along with current team captain Hiko.
Read more: Nitr0 leaves Counter-Strike a legend | Final VAORANT tourney in North American Ignition Series announced
100 Thieves have competed in all three of North America's Ignition Series tournaments, the marquee events so far in the VALORANT ecosystem, in which tournament organizers have partnered with the game's developer, Riot Games. At their first event, the team finished in fifth-sixth place but have failed to make it out of the group stages in the previous two IG Series events, only winning a single match over that span. 100 Thieves will not compete in the fourth and final Ignition Series tournament, Pop Flash, taking place Aug. 26-30, and have also recently dropped out of the Pittsburgh Knights Invitational Gauntlet Series occurring on Sunday.
Nitr0 played for Team Liquid's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team from early 2015 until his official departure from the team at the beginning of August. As part of the Team Liquid roster, nitr0 was known for being an all-around player capable of playing various roles, most notably as the squad's in-game leader when the team achieved HLTV's No. 1 world ranking in the summer of 2019. During that stretch, nitr0 and Team Liquid also completed the IEM Grand Slam in 2019 for a grand prize of $1 million; they won four S-tier tournaments organized by Dreamhack or ESL inside a window of 10 consecutive events.
ESPN Daily newsletter: Sign up now!