Former Counter-Strike and Valorant Pro hazed Announces Retirement

34-year-old Ex-CSGO and Valorant professional James “hazed” Cobb has announced his retirement from pro play

Former Counter-Strike: Source, Global Offensive, and Valorant professional James “hazed” Cobb has announced his retirement on X (formerly Twitter). The 34-year-old’s most recent journey was with TSM’s Valorant organization, which recently disbanded its roster. 

Been MIA for a while but I suppose i should clarify publicly for anyone who cares:

Im done playing professionally.

I dont regret a moment of it. From 2004 to now, i met so many people and made some wonderful memories. Thanks to everyone who was a part of the journey. ♥️

— hazed (@hazedCS) November 5, 2023

In the announcement, hazed put out a clear statement, saying, “I’m done playing professionally,” also adding, “I don’t regret a moment of it. From 2004 to now, I met so many people and made some wonderful memories. Thanks to everyone who was a part of the journey.”

The North American had a long and illustrious career in esports, spanning nearly two decades in the professional gaming world. In addition to his playing career, he also had brief stints as a coach and worked as an analyst talent.

hazed’s Counter-Strike Career

James started his career early during the Source days, playing for teams like Double Scope Gang and eMazing Gaming in the early 2010s. His Global Offensive career began in 2014, and hazed is mainly known for his time with Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), a team he played with in five CSGO majors in 2015 and 2016.

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Even with such a long time in the Esports scene, hazed couldn’t win any S-tier LAN or Major, and his only trophies came from a few B-tier events and the 2015 CEVO Season 6 Professional.

In 2017, he worked as a coach for OpTic Gaming and also tried his luck as an analyst talent in the same year. Before quitting CS in 2020, he spent almost two years with North American squad Mythic.

Switching to Valorant 

Hazed was looking for a fresh start, and a new tactical shooter was just around the corner. Right after the game’s launch, James became one of the first professional players of the FPS title with a team called mouseSpaz, an organization he was previously part of in his CSGO career.

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He quickly got prominence in Valorant’s North American scene after joining TSM’s aspiring new team alongside talents like Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik and Matthew “Wardell” Yu. As an in-game leader with a wealth of experience, he helped TSM win 2021’s Challengers 2 in the first year of Valorant’s official Esports launch. However, that was sadly the height of his career, as TSM failed to secure the chance to attend any S-tier event. 

After leaving TSM in November 2021, hazed joined NRG’s core as an IGL and spent nearly a year with them before getting benched in September 2022. Then he returned to TSM in December 2022, only to leave after two months. 

Although hazed’s career in Counter-Strike and Valorant wasn’t as fruitful as many of the legendary players we have witnessed over the years, his dedication to the craft was commendable.