Former TSM member Matthew ‘Wardell’ Yu has said his future in competitive Valorant is “undecided” at the moment as he feels “free” as a content creator.
Wardell answered follower questions on Instagram stories and told one fan who asked if he would be joining a team that his future is “kind of undecided as of right now.”
The former TSM player went on to say that he is focused on working out and streaming at the moment and that he feels free as a “content creator.”
Wardell’s time as a Valorant pro could be over
Wardell was one of the first Valorant pros to be signed to a team in May of 2020 when TSM announced its entrance into the Riot Games title.
Wardell and TSM would enjoy success in 2020, finishing first in a smattering of tournaments and placing second at First Strike: North America, the first big Riot-run tournament.
But his, and TSM’s, fortunes would change as the team failed to qualify for any VALORANT Champions Tour tournaments until Stage 3, the final stage of the circuit. The team ended the year on a disappointing note as they did not have enough circuit points to attend the last-chance qualifier for Valorant Champions after finishing 7th-8th in the VCT Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs.
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TSM and Wardell did not qualify for the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Challengers, with the former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player dropped from the team on March 23.
Today, we mutually parted ways with @WARDELL416.
He's decided not to move to Texas with the rest of the team and has therefore chosen to step down.
Matt has been an important part of TSM from the beginning, and we wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors. pic.twitter.com/6NUheMRtWi
— TSM (@TSM) March 23, 2022
Wardell has not seen any international, or national, LAN competition since his move into Valorant, and his last tournament win with TSM was a Knights Monthly Gauntlet in February of 2022 in which the team beat a new 100 Thieves roster.
Wardell averages around 5,500 viewers and plays Valorant on 92% of his airtime on his Twitch account, according to Streams Charts.
The Canadian sniper could go the way of recently-retired Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin, who has chosen content creation and steaming over professional accolades. But as of now, his future is undecided
