The successful shooter streamer Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag is in a unique situation. Riot Games has asked him not to show their new tactical shooter Valorant on Twitch. Because his “real job” as the head of a League of Legends-team is getting in the way.
This is the situation: Valorant was the “next big thing” on Twitch last Friday night. Almost a million people watched as a “showcase” of the new tactical shooter was streamed.
On Tuesday, this is to happen again, with a second showcase, but one of the few participants will not be able to show his gameplay: Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag. He has 1.2 million followers on Twitch and is a former shooter pro, but his “real job” is now getting in the way of his Twitch career.
This is now the problem: As Nadeshot tells in his buddy Dennis “Cloakzy” Lepore’s stream, he is not allowed to show Valorant on Twitch for the time being. Riot Games has asked him to do so. Nadeshot may continue to play the shooter, but he cannot stream it.
When Cloakzy asks why that is, Nadeshot hesitates to answer. He said he drank yesterday, and that’s stupid and ugh…
But Cloakzy doesn’t give up, and Nadeshot explains what behind this.
Other LoL team owners complain about Nadeshot
He says that the other LoL team owners in Europe (LEC), the USA (LCS), and Korea (LCK) complained that he already has access to Valorant while they do not. Therefore, Riot has asked him not to stream.
Cloakzy compared the other team owners to “jealous classmates”.
Nadeshot said: “I love Riot, they are incredible. This is not their fault, they did nothing wrong, it’s just the other owners.”
Nadeshot: Twitch streamer and CEO
Who is Nadeshot? Matthew Haag is only 27, but he has already had a turbulent career:
- Nadeshot started as a regular player in Halo 2 and Gears of War
- In June 2010 – at 18 – he became a pro player for OpTic Gaming and started a career as a “Call of Duty” pro player. During this time he learned a lot, including how to deal with “teenagers in the esports house”
- In 2015, he ended his career as a gamer and became a “content creator”
- In 2016, he left OpTic Gaming and founded his own esports organization “100 Thieves”, which fields professional teams in League of Legends, Call of Duty, and CS:GO. Since then, he has been CEO and owner of 100 Thieves.
This resume creates a curious dichotomy:
- Nadeshot is, on one hand, a successful shooter streamer on Twitch with 1.2 million followers, with 9000 people watching him when he plays Call of Duty and vents about the shooter issue in Warzone
- But he is also the CEO of an esports organization that fields a team in LoL. In League of Legends, 100 Thieves is even quite successful, finishing the regular season in the LCS in 3rd place.
This unique combination seems to be getting in his way.
Another big Twitch streamer who is currently not showing Valorant is DrDisrespect. However, he has chosen that himself. He says he doesn’t want to sell his soul.
