How a Banned CSGO Prodigy is Looking for Redemption in Valorant
Braxton 'Brax' Pierce - formerly known as Swag - was once one of the most promising young talents in the North American CS:GO scene.
He rapidly rose through the domestic ranks, joining the likes of compLexity and then iBuyPower. It was hard to imagine a future for NA Counter-Strike that didn't feature Brax at the forefront.
But in January of 2015, Brax and his iBuyPower teammates were handed a ban from all Valve tournaments in the wake of a match-fixing scandal, which was later confirmed to be permanent.
Just like that, Brax's promising young career was gone. But while nobody argued that the iBuyPower players didn't deserve some sort of punishment, it wasn't too long before many began to see the lifetime ban as particularly harsh - especially in the case of Brax, who was just 17 years old at the time of the throw.
It was four years before tournament organizers began allowing Brax and his former teammates the chance to compete at non-Valve events. The damage had been done though, and while Brax dived back into competition, he still had no hope of being picked up by any team hoping to compete at Majors.
Now, Valorant offers Brax a new opportunity. A second chance to rewrite his legacy, to become the player he should have been in CS:GO. While he'll never erase his mistake, he now has a chance to make his tale not one of tragedy, but one of redemption.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS:
► Dexerto Esports - https://youtube.com/Dexerto
► Dexerto Call of Duty - https://www.youtube.com/DexertoCallofDuty
FOLLOW DEXERTO ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
► Twitter - https://twitter.com/Dexerto
► Instagram - https://instagram/Dexerto
► Facebook - https://facebook.com/Dexerto
► YouTube - https://youtube.com/Dexerto
He rapidly rose through the domestic ranks, joining the likes of compLexity and then iBuyPower. It was hard to imagine a future for NA Counter-Strike that didn't feature Brax at the forefront.
But in January of 2015, Brax and his iBuyPower teammates were handed a ban from all Valve tournaments in the wake of a match-fixing scandal, which was later confirmed to be permanent.
Just like that, Brax's promising young career was gone. But while nobody argued that the iBuyPower players didn't deserve some sort of punishment, it wasn't too long before many began to see the lifetime ban as particularly harsh - especially in the case of Brax, who was just 17 years old at the time of the throw.
It was four years before tournament organizers began allowing Brax and his former teammates the chance to compete at non-Valve events. The damage had been done though, and while Brax dived back into competition, he still had no hope of being picked up by any team hoping to compete at Majors.
Now, Valorant offers Brax a new opportunity. A second chance to rewrite his legacy, to become the player he should have been in CS:GO. While he'll never erase his mistake, he now has a chance to make his tale not one of tragedy, but one of redemption.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS:
► Dexerto Esports - https://youtube.com/Dexerto
► Dexerto Call of Duty - https://www.youtube.com/DexertoCallofDuty
FOLLOW DEXERTO ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
► Twitter - https://twitter.com/Dexerto
► Instagram - https://instagram/Dexerto
► Facebook - https://facebook.com/Dexerto
► YouTube - https://youtube.com/Dexerto