Son "xeta"
Seon-ho (손선호) has announced his retirement from the Valorant competitive scene as he bids farewell to his teammates on
T1
T1
Korea
Rank #2
stax
Kim Gu-taek (김구택)
Meteor
Kim Tae-oh (김태오)
Sylvan
Go Young-sup (고영섭)
BuZz
Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철)
iZu
Ham Woo-ju (함우주)
.
Among the first batch of pros to try their hand at the title in 2020, xeta found some success within the Korean scene under
Cloud9 Korea
Cloud9 Korea
Inactive
Bazzi
Park Jun-ki (박준기)
Munchkin
Byeon Sang-beom (변상범)
BuZz
Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철)
Hate
Lee Ye-hun (이예훈)
xeta
Son Seon-ho (손선호)
before the roster was dropped.
A region change was in xeta's sights as he once again signed with
Cloud9
Cloud9
North America
Rank #8
Xeppaa
Erick Bach
v1c
Victor Truong
mitch
Mitch Semago
neT
Michael Bernet
OXY
Francis Hoang
in 2021, this time for their North American division. His time with the organization procured many highs, the most notable being a top-eight finish at Champions that year.
After missing out on all international events of 2022, xeta departed C9 and signed with T1 ahead of the 2023 season. Despite an early exit from LOCK//IN, T1 bounced back in the Pacific League and qualified for both Masters: Tokyo and Champions.
T1, one match away from Champions' playoffs. (Photo: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
However, their appearances on the world stage were often cut short as the team was never able to advance past the group stage at either event, despite avoiding last-place finishes. In October, T1 competed in one OFF//SEASON event – the TEN Global Invitational – where xeta would play his last official matches with the team.
A slew of roster changes would restructure the team ahead of 2024, leaving xeta on the bench as new talent was onboarded prior to his retirement.
xeta took to Twitter and stated that after eight years of giving his all towards two separate game titles, the stress had stacked up and began affecting his mental health. He also cited his mandatory Korean National Service as one of the reasons for his departure, but expressed intentions to return to the competitive scene further down the line.
The retirement of xeta still leaves T1 with their now-finalized roster ahead of the 2024 season. The team will debut in the Pacific Kickoff, which is set to begin on February 17.
T1
T1
Korea
Rank #2
stax
Kim Gu-taek (김구택)
Meteor
Kim Tae-oh (김태오)
Sylvan
Go Young-sup (고영섭)
BuZz
Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철)
iZu
Ham Woo-ju (함우주)
is now: