by Today, Acend formally announced that it has ended its partnership with Patryk “starxo” Kopczyński, a professional Valorant player from Poland who had been with the franchise for nearly two years. The news came as a surprise to many fans, as the 21-years old had been a crucial member of the European team’s Valorant roster and had helped lead the team to several tournament victories as its in-game leader.
The franchise announced his departure on its official Twitter page
“Today we bid farewell to @starxo5 after an incredible 2 years adventure on our Valorant roster,” Acend announced.
“We will never forget Patryk’s energy, goofiness and sense of humor on and off the server! Thank you for everything and best of luck in your career starxo!”
Starxo was the last remaining member of Acend’s lineup that won the VALORANT Champions 2021 tournament, which was the first world championship for Riot Games’ first-person shooter game.
On March 2021, Acend welcomed the Polish player to its team, along with Santeri “BONECOLD” Sassi, Mehmet “cNed” Ya??z ?pek, Vladyslav “Kiles” Shvets, Jose “koldamenta” Luis Aranguren Herrero, and head coach Laurynas “Nbs” Kisielius. In June 2021, the franchise made a change to its roster by replacing koldamenta with Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt. This finalized the lineup that would later go on to win the VALORANT Champions tournament in December 2021, defeating Gambit in the process.
The team, including starxo, did not perform as well in 2022. The decision to end the project came after Acend was unable to secure a spot in the EMEA partnership league for 2023. On September 21, starxo left the roster and has been seeking new opportunities since then.
Reacting to his exit from Acend, starxo took to his Twitter page to thank the team for the two years spent.
“First 2 years in my life as a pro player, couldn’t ask for more from Acend and all of the boys, all of the support and memories will stay with me untill the end of my life for sure,” starxo said.
“I’m really grateful for this opportunity, we built a hell of a history. Time to move on.”
Prior to joining Acend, starxo was a member of THOSE GUYS, where he started his career. He thereafter represented Entropiq and played under the banner of the United Kingdom-based franchise Raise Your Edge Gaming. Raise Your Edge was later disbanded and the core of its roster was acquired by Acend.
The current status of starxo’s future in the world of VALORANT is unknown. However, given his success in winning one of the most prestigious tournaments in the game, it is likely that he has received offers from teams participating in the franchising program. One organization in the EMEA league that has yet to fill its roster for 2023 is KOI.
