NRG s0m announces competitive break following VALORANT Champions 2025 win

NRG’s Sam ‘s0m’ Oh has announced that he’ll take a break from competing following his victory at VALORANT Champions 2025 earlier this month.

Instead, s0m is looking to focus on content creation across Twitch and YouTube, while watching and supporting NRG’s competitive efforts during the 2026 VCT season.

“I’ll be taking a break. Definitely not forever. I think I’ll just be taking a break from competing. I’ve been doing it for basically ten years now,” shared s0m in yesterday’s announcement video.

“I’ve been doing it since I was 14. And I think that with the recent Champions win, what better time than now to kinda just take a break.”

Initially hailing from the Counter-Strike competitive scene, s0m transitioned to VALORANT esports in 2020, the same year he joined NRG. He’s been actively competing for the North American esports organisation ever since, except for a nine-month hiatus between 2023 and 2024.

This year, s0m and NRG had a slow start to their VCT season, with the team failing to qualify for both Masters events. However, an unexpected second-place finish in VCT Americas Stage 2 secured NRG a slot at VALORANT Champions 2025 in Paris.

In France, the roster continued to defy expectations, emerging undefeated from the tournament to lift the coveted Champions trophy.

“Just looking back at the year, I’d like to think that everything happens for a reason,” s0m reflected.. 

“We went through a lot of ups and downs with different rosters […] But I truly don’t think that without all the experiences that I’ve been through – not just this year but all the past years – I would be where I am today.”

He also thanked all his fans and team members for their continued support throughout his time in esports.

“Honestly, it is a little bit selfish, I think, of me, but I know you guys will do great with whoever you guys pick up…” the player emphasised. 

“Adam (mada) and I have talked about it, but when you win with a team, it’s truly a different kind of love. I’ll be talking about them for a while, and I don’t know if I’ll ever stop, to be honest. If you guys stop working as hard as you did with me, I’m gonna come back and I’m gonna whip all you guys into shape. So don’t do that.”

Last night, s0m went live on Twitch to shed further light on his decision to step away and what the future holds for him and his community.

“There was no better time for me than after Champs to really pursue content creating. […] I’m gonna put in hella work into content creating. I think winning as a Champ, especially with the team, was probably like the best thing I could have asked for to kinda end my career,” highlighted the NRG member.

He admitted that he’d been thinking about taking a break several times throughout the year and further explained: “You guys might say ‘retiring at 23 is crazy’. Forget the age. Just competing for eight, nine, ten years in general, knowing that you have content creating, as well, it’s a pretty hard decision to make.”

With his primary focus now on content creation, s0m plans to stream “every single day”. Moreover, he promised to co-stream NRG’s upcoming matches and support his former teammates in their competitive efforts.