Cover-Credits:
Spencer “Hiko” Martin is one of most recognizable FPS (First Person Shooter) veterans out there. The player became prominent when his team (Area51 Gaming) placed third at the Electronic Sports World Cup in 2012. He quickly became known for his clutches and solo site plays, something that transitioned during his move from CS:GO to Valorant. Hiko quit CS:GO in favor of Valorant in 2020 but he decided to hang his boots and quit competitive esports recently. In a recent Twitch stream, he finally revealed why he does not want to compete anymore.
Why Hiko retired from competitive Valorant
100 Thieves’ North American Valorant roster in 2020 was regarded as one of the best in the region. The team won First Strike North America but once the Valorant Champions Tour commenced, the team slowly fell off. 100 Thieves made it to Masters Berlin and the Last Chance Qualifiers but it failed to qualify for the world championship on both occasions.
It led to 100 Thieves making some drastic changes and dropping some of its key players. Valorant fans were not happy with how the team was in a constant state of flux. Hiko’s retirement plans came as a shock to a lot of fans and many within the Valorant community may think that Hiko retired because of the instability at 100 Thieves.
In a recent livestream, a fan asked why he left Valorant and if it was because of the environment at 100 Thieves. Hiko said, “I definitely wanted to retire. I really did not want to go through another roster rebuild.” Some 100 Thieves fans have criticized the team’s approach of constantly switching players around and even letting go of players in a matter of days in some cases.
Hiko was a football, hockey and baseball player but a hockey injury forced him out of sports. That is when he started getting into gaming and eventually competed in Counter-Strike events. He was also a staff member at Twitch from 2015 to 2018. After Riot Games released Valorant in 2020, Hiko switched to the game and quickly became one of the top streamers on Twitch in the Valorant category. Hiko continues to enjoy great viewership even after his retirement and is likely to remain one of the most popular members of the Valorant community.
