Former Counter-Strike legend turned VALORANT player Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer has joined North American organization M80, the team announced today.
The former player will turn to the head coach position and lead M80 in the upcoming Challengers circuit, hosted by Knights Arena. M80 was selected among other top teams from the region to participate in the circuit rather than secure qualification through the open qualifier, which began yesterday.
M80 made headlines last month following the organization’s acquisition of the former Ghost Gaming core alongside Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic and Alexander “Zander” Dituri.
Happy, known as a Counter-Strike legend with two Major victories in the Valve-owned title, made the switch to VALORANT in 2020. He didn’t find his footing at the highest level of competitive play in Europe and was unable to qualify for the VALORANT Champions Tour.
M80 CEO Marco Mereu told Dot Esports that Happy brings a level of experience that other coaches may not possess. “There is only one Happy. I guess you have to know him,” he said.
“He brings a unique blend of experience at the highest level of FPS play, performing in pressure moments and the ability to work with and bring out the best in those around him,” Mereu said. “These are the most important traits we wanted for our head coach who is working with capable and experienced players. They respect him and what he has accomplished and that this is his newest challenge. Together with Gunter we feel very good about our coaching and support staff heading into Challengers.”
M80 is set to begin its Challengers run on Feb. 1.
