Nathan ‘leaf’ Orf will not fly to the VALORANT Esports World Cup with G2 Esports due to health problems, the organisation announced over the weekend.
As a result, the team’s assistant coach, Peter ‘shhhack’ Belej, will sub in for the player while he undergoes treatment.
G2 revealed that leaf started experiencing issues after VALORANT Masters Toronto, though exact details were not mentioned.
“Per the doctor’s orders, he will not be travelling to EWC. We’re here for him through his recovery and will give him all the time he needs until he can return to dominating VCT,” the official announcement said.
Being one of the team’s most experienced players, the team will feel his absence at EWC. That said, shhhack was a professional VALORANT player himself before joining G2 and also brings a ton of Counter-Strike experience to the table.
“Leaf’s Health is Our Top Priority”
“Leaf wants to compete, but this is something we can’t ignore, and prioritizing leaf’s health is our top priority here. We are all here to support and wish him a speedy recovery,” said G2’s head coach Josh ‘JoshRT’ Lee.
Fans will hope to see leaf return for VCT Americas Stage 2; however, with the tournament starting on July 18th, there’s a chance that shhhack could play a few matches before leaf is ready. The good news is that G2’s first match in the event is on July 20th, which gives the player a few extra days to recover.
As the moment, the squad is already in Riyadh getting ready for its first match against Karmine Corp, which will be a best-of-one series taking place on July 8th at 10 AM BST / 9 AM UTC / 4 AM CT.
