Tenz Reveals Reasons Behind His Retirement

Former Sentinels Valorant professional Tyson “TenZ” Ngo recently revealed the reasons behind his decision to retire from the competitive Valorant scene last year.

Earlier today, Team Vitality pro Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev voiced his frustrations about the current state of the Valorant EMEA esports scene. He called out organizers for failing to resolve glaring issues like inconsistent hardware and unstable servers.

TenZ echoed Derke’s concerns, stating that these persistent technical problems have eroded long-term motivation for pro players, including himself, ultimately leading to his retirement after years of competing.

“One of the most disappointing things about making it to Tier 1 is realizing that the best players and teams aren’t always given the best conditions to perform at their highest potential,” TenZ said.

It’s that this has been a recurring issue since the inception of the VCT circuit. It’s absolutely unacceptable that we’re still facing the same problems after all this time, despite players constantly raising these concerns with seemingly no resolution. This was definitely one of the biggest contributing factors that led to my decision to hang up the mouse.”

TenZ retired from competitive Valorant after a 4.5-year career, spending most of his time with Sentinels. Despite the challenges, the 24-year-old Canadian cemented himself as one of the scene’s most iconic players, winning every major official tournament title and remaining a fan favorite in the global Valorant community.

Though TenZ has swapped fragging for content creation—remaining under Sentinels’ banner as a fan-favorite streamer—he hasn’t fully left the stage. Given the reasons cited above, however, it’s highly unlikely he will consider a return to competitive Valorant.