Overwatch Contenders staple Thomas “zYKK” Hosono is stepping away from competitive Overwatch after four years and will be moving on to try his hand at VALORANT.
The French player started playing the game as a hobby after school before joining GamersOrigin in 2016 as a 16-year-old to compete in the Contenders Season 0.
Though he didn’t always perform at a high-level while playing with various stacks in the tier-two scene, zYKK did qualify for several tournaments and saw a lot of success throughout the 2020 Contenders season while playing with Third Impact.
Because of his time with Third Impact early in the year, he was signed to the main roster of the Toronto Defiant after a short trial period and made his Overwatch League debut.
“I had a trial in Paris Academy, but GetAmazed convinced me to commit to join Third Impact,” zYKK said. “The best memory I have from playing Overwatch was with these guys. I’ll admit I had doubts at the beginning, but once we picked up the pace, it was only upwards from there.”
He spent the rest of the 2020 OWL season in Defiant’s rotation as the team qualified for the North America playoffs and finished in a tie for ninth. The team declined to extend his contract at the end of the season, and he began looking for a new squad to compete with.
ZYKK jumped back into Contenders for a brief sting with ÄöÅ in the Europe Gauntlet before announcing his retirement and subsequent decision to try and pursue VALORANT.
“I’ll be now moving on and I will try to play VALORANT as a pro,” zYKK said. “I appreciate all the support the fans gave me and I hope you’ll still support me even if I move on to VALORANT. I made amazing friends, met amazing people throughout this adventure. Thank you again.”
