Report: nitr0 set to return to Counter-Strike
Sources have confirmed to Dust2.us that former Liquid star and Intel Grand Slam Season 2 winner Nick "nitr0" Cannella is poised to make a return to the Counter-Strike scene. The legendary IGL's return to the game comes after a storied career that saw nitr0 preside over the most successful periods in Liquid's CS history, with the latter coming after a brief sojourn in VALORANT with 100 Thieves.
nitr0 once again moved on from Counter-Strike following Liquid's top-eight BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 run, with his final tournament coming at IEM Dallas 2023. Liquid would infamously move to a European-centered roster as Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis took the helm as the new in-game leader. The experiment ultimately failed, with the organization retaining the Latvian and Canadian Keith "NAF" Markovic as they once again retooled their roster.
Since his departure from the Counter-Strike world in 2023, he joined M80 to be part of their VALORANT roster as they competed in the North American Challengers League. The 28-year-old has stepped down from that roster earlier this month and announced that news about his future would be made soon. It now seems that the player has decided to move on not just from M80's roster, but from VALORANT entirely.
Dust2.us understands that the player has been in contact with a number of Counter-Strike teams about his return to the game. It remains to be seen in what capacity nitr0 would want to return as he noted that the travel level and his growing family contributed to his second departure from Liquid in 2023.
Dust2.us reached out to nitr0 regarding his future plans, with Cannella confirming the report, stating:
VALORANT was not what I expected it to be and I didn't see a future for myself. CS is home and with the lack of IGL's in NA, this is where I belong. I still have a lot to offer to NA CS and I can't wait to give CS2 everything I have.
With his return to the CS scene all-but confirmed, it will be interesting to see where nitr0 lands as the NA scene is in the midst of the summer shuffle, with many teams vying to improve their standings ahead of the Perfect World Major Shanghai 2024 Americas RMR.
