A look at cNed’s journey in gaming and his goals for the future.
You know him as one of the best Jett players in the world. You know him as a player who dictates the pace of the game. And amidst all that, there is a lingering question: why is his name cNed?
RedBull has launched a new documentary, highlighting the life and journey of 20-year-old Mehmet Yağız "cNed" İpek. One of the key members of the Valorant Champions 2021 winning team, cNed has carved a place for himself in the top tier of Valorant esports.
CNed chose his in-game name as the opposite of that of his brother, denC. Growing up watching his brother play video games it is clear who the Acend player's inspiration was at an early age. CNed started his career in CS 1.6 and later transitioned to CS: GO. When Riot released Valorant, cNed made the switch. And he won the first ever Valorant Championships 2021 as part of Team Acend.
“He is very hard working, very ambitious and very lazy,” says his brother.
DeNc claims he was the one who discovered his brother’s talent when he overheard him talking during an online match. AThen, just 7-8 years old, cNed was overheard posing as a 16-17 year old to online teammates.
“They don’t believe 7-8 years old can play as I do, otherwise they think I’m cheating,” cNed told his brother.
His high individual skill ceiling meant he had to lie to escape online reports from others who simply did not believe his age. Today, many of those doubters would be watching in awe at cNed's capabilities.
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Social Life and Hard work
But it’s not all work for the gaming brothers. They have a social life, often playing basketball and hanging out with friends. But it's their love of food that takes them places.
I feel like a special player in the game while playing because I’m making moves that not everyone would be able to make.
CNed likens boxing to gaming in the video. Similar to gaming, boxing also requires very fast reaction times. As a player who often gets the most hype reactions from casters, cNed is infamous for his lightning speed reflexes.
But it’s not all about his raw talent as the Turkish player explains how his fame and results are a result of hardwork and perseverance.
Gaming as a full-time career is not easy. His team spends 6-7 hours daily scrimming and cNeds spends 3-4 more hours in the day, streaming. Building a personal brand, cNed has more than 471,000 followers on Twitch.
“My talent alongside my hard work are the reasons why I became a Champion”, said cNed.
What’s next for cNed? Acend are competing in the EMEA Challengers where they face stiff competition from the likes of G2, FunPlus Phoenix and Fnatic. With the recent nerfs to Jett, cNed is playing more of Reyna and is equally as effective.
Only the top three teams in the EMEA Challengers will advance to the playoffs, which gets them one step closer to the Valorant Champions this year. CNed has already set his aim of being the Champion back-to-back three times. Only two more to go.
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