After over a year of inactivity with Fnatic, Star VCT athlete Leo “Leo” Jannesson has decided to step away from VALORANT indefinitely due to chronic health conditions.
In a recent announcement, Fnatic disclosed it has bid farewell to Leo “after three years of last minute clutches, two international trophies and being an undisputable fan favorite.”
“Whilst the last year hasn’t been what we or Leo had hoped for, we are incredibly proud that Leo’s career was with us and for all the achievements we had with him on our roster,” the organization’s post on X (formerly Twitter) reads, including a short clip of his career’s highlights and journey with the team. The reason behind this move, however, was made clear by Fnatic VALORANT’s team director, Cojo, who made a separate post to express disappointment at life’s unexpected turns.
Explaining that illness was the sole reason Leo had to put down the mouse, Cojo described the pain of seeing such a hardworking and gifted athlete leave as “a knife in the gut.” Sharing that signing Leo had always been his and former Fnatic coach mini’s dream, he recalled: “When we finally were able to get him—we felt like we could win anything (and we kind of did).” He went on to highlight Leo’s qualities as a player and person, adding that he’d be deeply missed by his teammates and the community.
Adding to the upset, the announcement comes days before Fnatic’s much-anticipated appearance at VALORANT Champions Paris, the year’s most prestigious tournament set to begin on Sept. 12.
A core part of Fnatic since 2022, Leo switched to an inactive position after worsening health conditions cut short his ability to compete at the highest level. The young gem was last seen weaving his “Sova main” magic on the international stage in VCT Masters Shanghai back in June 2024.
While there’s no official or clear description of what exactly went wrong, Boaster had revealed that Leo was struggling with “Long Covid” in a co-stream with CGRS and others during VALORANT Champions 2024. Since then, there have been multiple rumors about him potentially getting better and returning, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Whether Leo will return to competition remains uncertain, but watching one of the world’s best initiator mains retire due to chronic sickness is nothing short of heartbreaking.
