Jake ‘jake’ Anderson, a player signed by Cloud9 to take the position of the greatest Valorant player in the world in 2022, is a devoted competitor who is more than capable of stepping into such big shoes, according to his former collegiate teammates. Jakee’s Valorant numbers on his recruiting page initially led Justin Pelt, the former head of esports at the University of St. Thomas, to believe that the Florida native was cheating. Then, Pelt continued, “I saw him perform in our first trial, and it lived up to the hype
The amateur athlete had previously played on Team Reckaroo and NSIC at the second and third-tier levels before deciding to pursue a college education. Jakee received offers from some of the best esports colleges nationwide, including Converse University and Northwood University. Still, Pelt claimed he was only interested in playing for institutions in Texas or California. The initial choice was to be near his partner. The second was to be close to Los Angeles, the home of the VCT Americas competition and numerous esports powerhouses.
Pelt laughed and said, “Basically, we won the Jakee sweepstakes because his girlfriend lives in Texas.” His teammates, whom he had interacted with online and in Discord, were shocked to discover that the self-assured and intensely motivated player they had grown to know was just another shy adolescent when he arrived at the school in Houston, Texas.
It’s your first time living independently of your parents, Pelt said. “He relocated from Florida to Texas, halfway across the country, and the only person he knew in the state was his girlfriend. He was a bit more reserved, and that’s how he still is.
At UST, Jakee is coming into his own.
Jakee was one of the most driven individuals they had ever encountered in Valorant, according to his UST peers. Former UST and Reckaroo teammate Nathanael “Nate” Miles said of him, “He would be in the room unless it were for his class or for getting food.” Other than that, he would spend the entire day in his room playing ranked video games, participating in scrims, performing his Kovacs routine, or conversing with his partner. When I finally met him, I was struck by his commitment.
According to his former UST colleague Anthony ‘Tiger’ Colon, the now-Cloud9 player would eventually venture outside his room more and play ranked and scrims at the UST esports facility, where he would develop a closer bond with his teammates. Tiger claimed that when the two went to the gym, he would nag Jakee about consuming too much candy while Nate called him out on his bad posture. Jakee would frequently gripe about how sweaty his hands would get while competing, according to Pelt, and he occasionally displayed nervousness.
Jakee, who usually played the Controller position, took on some of the Duelists’ duties for UST and ultimately rose to the work of IGL, making calls from the front lines while entering sites and making plays.
Cloud9 contacts Jakee to request his assistance
When Cloud9 finally messaged Jakee to let him know they wanted to try him for their Valorant team, Jakee was open with his teammates. The fact that a player of this caliber would need to go through a tryout surprised the squad and the director more than anything else.
The hearing was a long time coming for Nate. In Nate’s view, he had been the best available free-agent Controller for about a year. “I was genuinely shocked that nobody picked him up. He sees if anyone views a VOD of him. Jakee participated in the tryout period for roughly two weeks before signing with Cloud9. Nate then assisted the future VCT Americas player in leaving their shared dorm. The team tried to maintain Jakee’s rigorous practice schedule on his last day, except for a brief excursion to the store to pick up a few travel necessities.
After getting to know their teammate and friend over a semester, Tiger and Nate admitted that they both sobbed as they watched him leave for the airport. They are sure he will be a massive hit for Cloud9.
Comments are closed.