34-year-old Ex-CSGO and Valorant skilled James “hazed” Cobb has introduced his retirement from professional play
Former Counter-Strike: Supply, World Offensive, and Valorant skilled James “hazed” Cobb has introduced his retirement on X (previously Twitter). The 34-year-old’s most up-to-date journey was with TSM’s Valorant group, which recently disbanded its roster.
Been MIA for some time however I suppose i ought to make clear publicly for anybody who cares:
Im accomplished taking part in professionally.
I dont remorse a second of it. From 2004 to now, i met so many individuals and made some fantastic reminiscences. Due to everybody who was part of the journey. ♥️
— hazed (@hazedCS) November 5, 2023
Within the announcement, hazed put out a transparent assertion, saying, “I’m accomplished taking part in professionally,” additionally including, “I don’t remorse a second of it. From 2004 to now, I met so many individuals and made some fantastic reminiscences. Due to everybody who was part of the journey.”
The North American had an extended and illustrious profession in esports, spanning practically twenty years within the skilled gaming world. Along with his taking part in profession, he additionally had transient stints as a coach and labored as an analyst expertise.
hazed’s Counter-Strike Profession
James began his profession early through the Supply days, taking part in for groups like Double Scope Gang and eMazing Gaming within the early 2010s. His World Offensive profession started in 2014, and hazed is principally identified for his time with Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), a staff he performed with in 5 CSGO majors in 2015 and 2016.
Even with such a very long time within the Esports scene, hazed couldn’t win any S-tier LAN or Main, and his solely trophies got here from just a few B-tier occasions and the 2015 CEVO Season 6 Skilled.
In 2017, he labored as a coach for OpTic Gaming and likewise tried his luck as an analyst expertise in the identical yr. Earlier than quitting CS in 2020, he spent nearly two years with North American squad Mythic.
Switching to Valorant
Hazed was searching for a recent begin, and a brand new tactical shooter was simply across the nook. Proper after the sport’s launch, James turned one of many first skilled gamers of the FPS title with a staff known as mouseSpaz, a corporation he was beforehand a part of in his CSGO profession.
He shortly received prominence in Valorant’s North American scene after becoming a member of TSM’s aspiring new staff alongside abilities like Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik and Matthew “Wardell” Yu. As an in-game chief with a wealth of expertise, he helped TSM win 2021’s Challengers 2 within the first yr of Valorant’s official Esports launch. Nonetheless, that was sadly the peak of his profession, as TSM didn’t safe the prospect to attend any S-tier occasion.
After leaving TSM in November 2021, hazed joined NRG’s core as an IGL and spent practically a yr with them earlier than getting benched in September 2022. Then he returned to TSM in December 2022, solely to go away after two months.
Though hazed’s profession in Counter-Strike and Valorant wasn’t as fruitful as lots of the legendary gamers now we have witnessed over time, his dedication to the craft was commendable.
