10 players who have been successful in multiple esports

When Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong won the Overwatch League’s Kickoff Clash with the Los Angeles Gladiators this past weekend, it was the first Overwatch title for a player coming off a successful VALORANT career.

To be successful in one esport is a big accomplishment. To be successful in two is pretty special.

Patiphan is one of only a handful of pros – along with the names below – who have excelled in and even amassed trophies in multiple esports. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, as there are quite a few players who prospered in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and have started to build nice VALORANT careers in recent years. However, these 10 are among the most accomplished, and represent a range of esports, including a few who have done it in radically different games.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Nicholas “Nitr0” Cannella

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and VALORANT

Many have made the jump from CS:GO to VALORANT since the game’s release in 2020, several of them experiencing success – Spencer “Hiko” Martin, Ethan “Ethan” Arnold and Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom all come to mind. But the poster boy for the move is Nitr0, aka Captain America.

Nitr0 had an incredibly successful run in CS:GO with Team Liquid in 2019, winning IEM Sydney, Dreamhack Dallas, ESL Pro League Season 9, ESL One: Cologne and IEM Chicago – all contributing to Team Liquid ultimately winning the third ever IEM Grand Slam. Then, in summer 2020, Nitr0 retired from CS:GO and joined 100 Thieves’ VALORANT team. That fall, 100 Thieves won the year’s biggest VALORANT tournament, First Strike North America. And in 2021, they reached the semifinals of Masters: Berlin. Now, Nitr0 is back on Team Liquid playing CS:GO.

With so many pros switching to VALORANT, there are bound to be others who collect major titles in both games. For now, though, Nitr0’s dual success is unmatched.

Photo credit: 343 Industries

Eric “Snip3down” Wrona

Halo and Apex Legends

Snip3down is one of the most accomplished Halo players of all time. He’s won dozens of major titles, including the 2008 MLG National Championship and the 2016 HCS Pro League Finals. He also achieved something few other esports players can claim: winning a gold medal with Evil Geniuses at the X Games Aspen 2016.

As a matter of fact, he did it twice, medaling again at X Games Minneapolis 2019 – only this time while playing Apex Legends. Snip3down also placed second with Team Reciprocity at the EXP Invitational that was held at the Summer X Games in 2019, and he came in third at the ALGS 2021 Championship with TSM. Since then, Snip3down has switched back to Halo, where he and FaZe Clan have consistently finished among the top four or five teams at major tournaments.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong

VALORANT and Overwatch

Patiphan is only 18 years old, yet he’s already racked up quite the two-esport resume. At 15, he sprung onto the scene with Team Thailand at the 2018 Overwatch World Cup, becoming a highly touted talent who many expected would play in the OWL. However, before he could crack the league, he shifted focus to VALORANT in 2020.

Playing with Thailand’s X10, Patiphan led the team to Masters: Reykjavík 2021, the first international event in VALORANT esports history. Later that year, X10 stunned Envy at Champions to reach the playoffs of the inaugural VALORANT world championship tournament.

Following that tournament, Patiphan announced he was joining the Los Angeles Gladiators of the Overwatch League. Of course, the Gladiators won the first tournament of the 2022 season, immediately giving him an OWL title on top of all his success in VALORANT.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Harrison “psalm” Chang

Heroes of the Storm and Fortnite

Psalm was a highly successful Heroes of the Storm pro from 2015 to 2018. Playing for Tempo Storm, he won the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Phase #1 North America Pro League in both 2017 and 2018, then finished fourth at the Mid-Season Brawl later that year.

His greatest claim to fame, however, was finishing second at the first (and thus far only) Fortnite World Cup in 2019. Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf got all the glory and accolades for coming out on top – but right behind him was psalm, earning a cool $1.8 million in prize money. Since then, psalm has moved on to VALORANT, though he has yet to ascend to similar levels in a third game.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi

League of Legends and VALORANT

Unlike most of the other names on this list, Sacy has found success in two very different game genres. While players switching between FPS titles or between MOBAs is to be expected, a player switching from a MOBA to an FPS title is much rarer. Yet, that’s exactly what Sacy has done in moving from League of Legends to VALORANT.

The pinnacle of Sacy’s LOL career was winning Brazil’s CBLOL Split 1 Playoffs in 2017, which qualified Red Canids for an international tournament, the Mid-Season Invitational (though Sacy did not compete at MSI.) Since moving to VALORANT, Sacy won Brazil’s Stage 1 Masters and qualified for an international tournament, Masters: Reykjavík, in 2021 with Team Vikings. And, in 2022, Sacy led LOUD to a second-place finish at Masters: Reykjavík, very quickly wracking up a number of quality finishes.

Photo credit: Activision Blizzard

Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro

Halo and Call of Duty

Several players have switched back and forth between Call of Duty and Halo, including Matthew "FormaL" Piper. None have experienced as much success as Shotzzy, though, who’s become a world champion in both.

He won the 2018 Halo World Championship with Splyce, and upon moving to COD, was victorious in the 2020 Call of Duty Championship with the Dallas Empire in addition to being named the 2020 Call of Duty League MVP. At only 20 years old, there’s plenty of time for Shotzzy to win more trophies in COD, Halo – or even another esport.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Kang "solo" Keun-chul

Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and VALORANT

Unlike many of the former CS:GO pros who migrated to VALORANT, solo’s esports career stretches all the way back to the days of the original Counter-Strike, aka CS 1.6. Over a decade ago, he won World eSports Masters 2010 with a team called WeMade Fox. He also was on a team called e-STRO that were runners-up at the second ever IEM World Championship in 2008. While solo didn’t accomplish quite as much in CS:GO, he was a member of one of the most competitive Korean teams on MVP PK.

After switching to VALORANT, solo helped lead NUTURN Gaming to a second-place finish at First Strike Korea, then a third-place finish at the international Masters: Reykjavík 2021. Solo now serves as the head coach of DAMWON Gaming.

Photo credit: PGL

Zainab "zAAz" Turkie

Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and VALORANT

Just as many men who played CS:GO at the highest level switched to VALORANT, so too have plenty of women. Julia "juliano" Kiran, Michaela "mimi" Lintrup, Petra "Petra" Stoker, Emmalee "EMUHLEET" Garrido and Benita "bENITA" Novshadian all enjoyed distinguished careers in CS:GO and found success in VALORANT, too – but Zainab "zAAz" Turkie truly stands out.

Like solo, zAAz has been playing competitively since CS. She won Dreamhack Summer 2007 - Female and finished second at the Electronic Sports World Cup in 2008 and 2010. She also finished first in several more Dreamhack and Intel tournaments from 2015 to 2020.

Since switching to VALORANT, zAAz has been collecting trophies with G2 Gozen, winning three consecutive VCT Game Changers tournaments from 2021 to 2022 alongside longtime teammates juliano, mimi and Petra.

Photo credit: Activision Blizzard

Young-jin "Gamsu" Noh

League of Legends and Overwatch

Like Sacy, Gamsu has traveled the highly unique path of playing two very different games at a highly competitive level: League of Legends (a MOBA) and Overwatch (an FPS).

Gamsu’s signature accomplishment in League of Legends was finishing second with Fnatic at the IEM Season 10 World Championship in 2016. And while playing Overwatch, Gamsu won the 2019 Stage 3 Playoffs with the Shanghai Dragons. Now, Gamsu is back to League of Legends. After playing for 100 Thieves’ amateur and academy teams last year, Gamsu has been signed by Dignitas and is set to be part of their roster for the next League Championship Series split this summer.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Jared "zombs" Gitlin

Apex Legends and VALORANT

A handful of players have switched from Apex Legends to VALORANT, the most successful being zombs. While competing in Apex Legends with Sentinels, he won TwitchCon: San Diego and finished third at the EXP Invitational at X Games Minneapolis.

He then joined Sentinels’ inaugural VALORANT roster in 2020 and was part of a very successful team in 2021. Sentinels won North America’s Stage 1 Masters, followed by victory at Masters: Reykjavík.

It’s also worth noting that zombs played Overwatch before Apex Legends. He didn’t make it past the Contenders division to the Overwatch League, but prior to the start of the OWL he did finish first in the Alienware Monthly Melee in October 2016 with FaZe Clan.

Lead photo credit: Helena Kristiansson / ESL