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In a recent Twitch stream, Team Liquid's in-game leader (IGL), Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen, commented on his possible switch from Valorant to CS:GO.
The 20-year-old Finnish player initially shifted to Riot Games' tactical shooter due to an old VAC ban looming over his CS:GO career. He then joined Team Liquid's Valorant roster to aid them in their VCT 2021 run.
Shortly into Jamppi's Valorant career, however, Valve updated the eligibility guidelines for their tournaments, allowing him to return to CS:GO. The Finnish AWPer chose to stick with Valorant, citing his decision as "extremely hard to make." However, after over a year in tier-1 Valorant, Jamppi is looking to return to his roots.
Jamppi shares his thoughts on leaving Valorant to return to CS:GO
Team Liquid added Jamppi to their Valorant roster in February 2021, allowing him to take on the reigns as the team's entry fragger and later as their in-game leader.
In April 2021, however, Jamppi was given the opportunity to return to CS:GO. As Valve remodeled its eligibility guidelines, Jamppi's VAC ban, which had already crossed the 5-year mark, was lifted.
Considering Team Liquid's progression in Riot's tournament circuit, and given that Jamppi had switched games just months prior, it was not feasible for him to return to CS:GO at that time. However, in one of his recent Twitch streams, he opened up about his desire to compete in CS:GO.
A member of Jamppi's Twitch chat asked him if they were to expect his return to CS:GO at some point, to which Jamppi replied:
"100% yeah."
Jamppi had been streaming CS:GO several times over the last week. He confirmed to his Twitch chat that he was just practicing in CS:GO while competing in Valorant professionally. However, in one of his streams, he hinted at his possible return to Valve's tactical shooter as he said:
"The earliest I'm going to return is in October, not before that."
While this does not confirm his return to CS:GO, Jamppi's statements do affirm his interest in returning to the game's pro scene. With the month of October being mentioned, Jamppi could have been trying to reflect his intentions of competing in Valorant until the ongoing VCT season concludes.
Once VCT 2022 winds up in September, Team Liquid will have ample time to find an appropriate replacement for an IGL if Jamppi decides to leave. The situation, however, is still unclear. Later on in the same stream, Jamppi reiterated his intentions to professionally compete in Valorant, as he stated:
"I'm not going anywhere, guys. I'm not leaving Valorant. I still play Valorant every day for 6 hours."
Jamppi's CS:GO career till now
Jamppi started playing CS:GO in 2014 and found himself playing professionally years later. By 2019, he had established himself as a rising star within the CS:GO community, proving his abilities against several top-tier professionals.
However, it was later discovered that Jamppi owned a CS:GO account that was banned by VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) in 2015 for the use of malicious cheating software. This resulted in Jamppi receiving a lifetime ban from Valve-sponsored CS:GO events, notably the Majors.
Although the youngster had short stints at several notable organizations, his inability to compete at the game's biggest stages hindered his path to success. Luckily for him, a similar opportunity came up, allowing him to excel at the highest level just as he had always dreamed of.
Where could Jamppi be headed to in CS:GO?
Jamppi spent the majority of his CS:GO career at Finnish organization SJ Gaming before being noticed by OG Esports. After his transfer to OG broke down, one of Finland's most reputed organizations, ENCE, recruited the young prodigy.
Jamppi's VAC ban hindered his performance during his time at ENCE. However, as the issue at hand is resolved, ENCE might welcome the player back with open arms. Although the team has gone through several rough patches in recent years, their current squad is on its way to stamping their names on CS:GO's history books.
ENCE is currently one of the top contestants in the ongoing PGL Major Antwerp 2022. After concluding the Challengers Stage with a 3-1 scoreline, ENCE became one of the 8 teams to qualify for the Legends Stage and have a chance to fight their way towards their first Major victory.
Jamppi's addition to the current ENCE squad can definitely bolster their firepower. His addition to the team would compromise Aleksander "hades" Miskiewicz's playtime on the team. However, considering the quality that a proven AWPer like Jamppi can bring to the table, it wouldn't be surprising if ENCE is inclined to make the move as well.
