Gary “blaZek1ng” Dastin is stepping away from the competitive scene after a seven-year long career in both Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and VALORANT.
INDONESIA – Gary “blaZek1ng” Dastin has officially announced his retirement from VALORANT and esports, closing the chapter on a seven-year career that spanned both Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and VALORANT where he represented several organizations, including EXECUTIONERS, Rex Regum Qeon, BOOM Esports, and Global Esports.
“After some consideration, I’ve decided to retire from esports to pursue my personal goals. Goodbye, everyone. Thank you to those who have always supported me through the ups and downs. Without you guys, I won’t be able to come this far.”
blaZek1ng first came onto the scene in 2016 and made a name for himself in the local Counter-Strike circuit in 2017 with AKARA. As a rifler, he rose to prominence in the APAC region as part of the EXECUTIONERS (XcN) squad during the 2017/2018 season, teaming up with players like Adrian “adrnking” Setiawan, who recently played for Velocity Gaming and SCARZ, and the recently-retired Tejas “rite2ace” Sawant.
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His last stint in Valve’s first-person shooter was with RRQ, where he played alongside Albert “Frostmisty” Giovanni and Jayvee “DubsteP” Paguirigan before making the transition to VALORANT with BOYS WITH LOVE, who later signed with BOOM Esports.
It was with BOOM Esports that blaZek1ng hit the highest peak of his career, leading his team to become Indonesia’s frontrunner during the first four seasons of VALORANT. This success included international appearances at prestigious events such as VALORANT Champions Istanbul and VCT Ascension Pacific 2023.
Their victory in the 2022 VCT APAC Last Chance Qualifier made them the first and only all-Indonesian team to qualify for the VALORANT world championship to date. blaZek1ng was also recognized as the 5th best Pacific Challengers Player of 2023 at The VALO2ASIA Awards, an honor voted on by 20 invited members of the panel.
His final chapter came last year when he joined Global Esports for the 2024 VCT Pacific League, marking his first experience with an international team after spending the previous years with Indonesia-based squads. In his last competitive year, blaZek1ng averaged as GE’s second-best performer, although the team finished 7-9th at Kickoff, 7-8th at Stage 1, and 9th at Stage 2.
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Cover photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
