niesoW to take a break from competitive play

Team Heretics coach Tanishq “Tanizhq” Sabharwal announced on Twitter that Dustyn "niesoW" Durnas will be taking a break from competitive play to focus on personal matters. The announcement was leaked earlier today by esportsmaniacos’ platform Universo VALORANT.

niesoW was, of course, a massive part of Heretics’ success in First Strike, and played a smaller but crucial role in their finals appearance during Masters, subbing in primarily on Split for the team. In the Twitlonger, Tanizhq reveals a number of things about niesoW’s competitive situation, including that he had decided to take a step back after First Strike already but agreed to help the team in a reduced role for Masters 1, and that he was ill during part of the run. He also stresses that the situation has nothing to do with cheating, saying, “Frankly, if you still think niesoW is cheating, you are either an idiot, a salty player, or both.”

While it is of course understandable, the loss of niesoW has been and will continue to be a big hit to Heretics. However, even without him for much of their run, their 6-man roster still managed a finals appearance in Masters 1. They’ll be looking to do that again in the Challengers Finals for Stage 2 to secure themselves an appearance at VALORANT’s first international LAN, Stage 2 Masters in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Team Heretics are now:

Melih “pAura” Kaduran Christian “lowel” Garcia Antoran Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas Auni “AvovA” Chahade Ruben “RUBINO” Villarroel

Dustyn “niesoW” Durnas (Inactive)

Tanishq “Tanizhq” Sabharwal (Coach)