How CS:GO Turned a Theatre Kid into Valorant's Most Eccentric IGL

Whenever we think of great teams, more often than not we think of their superstars. The highlight spamming, larger than life maestros who become the faces of their games.
But more often than not, what makes a great team truly great, is a leader. The voice of reason, the calm during the storm, and the rallying cry to lift those around them.
Now, of course, every IGL will have their own philosophy and approach to communicating with their teammates.
But when it comes to taking the reins and inspiring confidence in others perhaps no IGL approaches leadership quite like Jake "Boaster" Howlett - Fnatic's charismatic, comedic captain.
An unorthodox entry-fragger turned shotcaller who hasn’t just spent the past year molding his team into one of Valorant’s very best, but has done so all while making himself something of a spectacle.
Written by: Niall McCrossan (@niallmccrossan)
Hosted by: Josh Bury (@ThrownGauntlet)
Edited by: Jason Durante (@JayJay_Durante)
Produced by: Miles Hackett (@miles_hackett)
Thumbnail by: Bennett Grainger
Footage Credits:
pastebin.com/v...
Music used under license from Associated Production Music LLC (”APM”).
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[@ItsNuub4051]

Watching this after FNC winning Lock In really hits hard. Boaster deserves it more than anybody right now imo

[@befil3621]

Ye hes so sweet

[@sanud8548]

Watching this after the back to back wins, boaster really on top rn

[@NitinSrichakri]

YEAH now after 2 wins perfect

[@The_McFly]

First team to be 2x world champs we going to get our 3rd when vct starts 💪

[@1-spartan]

This guy puts a smile on everyone's face and that is all that matters :D

[@adonisschoolW]

And a cringe, its 50/50, sometimes funny sometimes cringe but you gotta like him

[@purplewine7362]

@@adonisschoolW do kids call everything cringe nowadays?

[@adonisschoolW]

@@purplewine7362 wdym it literally is cringe for me it makes me feel cringe

[@moyashh]

@@adonisschoolW It's not cringe, it's just a different kind of humor. Everyone reacts to different kinds of humor

[@adonisschoolW]

@@moyashh yes and i react with cringe wtf, but oike i said i still like him and i think he is great but sometimes its not my humour

[@izzatnazmi774]

to be honest the first time i heard about boaster im like who the hell is he.. now hes my favourite player

[@marxvideos6347]

Lol sameew

[@hunghuynh4896]

Yea I watched his stream once and I love him

[@saadmanomarsiddique]

Same

[@imrananuar3037]

Same xd

[@alifgudboi]

Same bro

[@abominably_antisocial]

*sen won in Iceland but boaster won ppls hearts*

[@Laugfss]

didnt like this comment because i would ruin the holy number

[@convertible2987]

@@Laugfss damn bro 69 so funny hHhahsdhadhasd asdasd

[@adonisschoolW]

@@convertible2987 dababy so funy Ahahahahahhdhahdhahdhahdhahd

[@user-ve2zx7zc4i]

nope patiphan did

[@abominably_antisocial]

@@user-ve2zx7zc4i word.exe did

[@blast4028]

Just think: one day, you'll see that tenz frenzy clip for the last time.

[@kahaan8329]

And it will be replaced by another TenZ clip

[@mauro77jjj]

@Skarluwu or the coldzera jump awp shot

[@aadharshj10]

@@kahaan8329 no u won't be there or tenz won't be to make or see th clip

[@jeremyfang1624]

have seen it 5 times in the livestreams and replays and clips, seen it like 5 in these vids, and 5 more just somewhere

[@doruka890]

Ngl i dont think its about the clip its about the one liner

[@2Kayu]

I KNEW IT WAS BOASTER THE SECOND I SAW THE WORDS “eccentric igl”

[@danielvincenzobautista3293]

SAME LMAO

[@hahuhuta800]

I mean, you can also see his face on the thumbnail soo..

[@chris-vv1nt]

@@hahuhuta800 maybe they read the title before looking at the thumbnail 🤷‍♂️

[@ameyabhosale6433]

@@chris-vv1nt that's really hard to do you know

[@ameyabhosale6433]

@@chris-vv1nt it's actually impossible to read the text once your eyes spots the vibrant colors first

[@azrael5361]

An extroverted gamer? Hmm that's the rarest kind.

[@benitohermano4595]

I highly doubt it He's just Charismatic as f I know people who are very charismatic and "entertainer" but inside, they're very thoughtful and are introverted

[@Someone-is4lx]

@@benitohermano4595 introvert doesn't equal thoughtful, he is charismatic and funny, and wasn't at all shy in the masters, which are the characteristics of extroverted people

[@Underground.Rabbit]

its rare that they become pro but extroverted gamer is wayy too common

[@brunobucciarati5189]

That “thunder is highly effective against liquid” made me love him

[@hawkeyedsentinel4648]

Boaster deserves an update, maybe call it "The valorant IGL who never gave up"

[@ThuggishDD]

This is the kind of guy that with just his presence can energize everyone in a boring party.

[@fenrirx481]

Congratulations to Boaster and his team . What a mythical comeback from 3-11!!!

[@austinfull8941]

He didn't join SUMN FC, he started it coz he wasn't getting picked up.

[@imHIM4]

true

[@aashaypatel1242]

Yes he literally created the team with their coach mini he has talked about how he picked the players in a plat chat interview

[@chasepack732]

yeah i feel like that's a pretty big detail they left out here. he literally built his career from the ground up by scouting unknown players and making it to the first strike grand finals with them as an unsigned team.

[@yinsu]

This was the issue Jake and I had as well, a few inaccuracies here and there but to leave out the massive scouting process he went through to form SUMN is a bit of an oversight. Plus they also got the original lineup wrong too. RIP

[@austinfull8941]

@@yinsu yes! justice for dinkzj who is now having a career of his own with Na'Vi

[@keyfragz6276]

He won the fans at “Thank for the question”

[@freedjet8]

Boaster is a legend. I don't care about valorant like I used to, but ever since I created that boaster copypasta, he's always been my favorite player of all time. NOBODY IS LIKE HIM, he's a living legend.

[@juliangrieco]

@Wilson Dowse r/wooosh

[@nilanavesa]

why am i crying watching this

[@freedjet8]

@Wilson Dowse "Boaster is my favorite player in the fnatic pro scene. He truly does have it all. He plays as a IGL/support player, but he knows how to get the important picks and how to clutch when needed. Easily one of my favorite players of all time."

[@aFoolsMartyr]

​@Julian Grieco nothing more cringe than linking subreddits on YT.

[@Hypnoslol]

Who's here after FNC won Lock In? Boaster + Derke deserved that win more than anyone else

[@lol-tu9jk]

+1 pretty sure maybe they didn't win the final (sen vs fnc) cause derke isn't bold enough for the bold buff

[@chocopoco9]

also Leo, he clutched up so many round

[@James.576]

Boaster singing 'butter' and dancing to the choreo is the highlight 😄

[@drakeyyy]

theres an even better clip of him dancing to it properly

[@chris-vv1nt]

He is the human embodiment of a golden retriever i cant wait for him to grow bigger and become the face of Valorant like Shroud or Tenz.

[@ebenezer8058]

what shroud face of valorant since when?

[@BlackshotXFairytail]

Shroud is no doubt the face of fps gaming fosho

[@potatoxfish]

@@ebenezer8058 Every time he streams Valorant he has the most viewers in the category, not just playing but even just watching the tourneys.

[@ebenezer8058]

@@potatoxfish thats because he has the most no of subscribers in twitch ofc and his 12 year old army they will watch anything that he plays

[@makk41]

@@ebenezer8058 are you mixing up shroud and xQc? shroud has neither most subs on twitch, nor does his following generally get depicted as 12 year olds. both are true for xQc though..

[@skyotomi]

Boaster the first IGL to win a national tournament back to back from VCT Lock//In to Masters Tokyo.

[@bravevine4281]

TenZ frenzy clip is the olofboost clip of valorant

[@wormywashere3612]

Not really

[@albinik5276]

Nope

[@ayyjizz444]

I think what he means in terms of putting it in every valorant video. Not because it is as innovative.

[@john707]

Dillusion

[@shcaboose]

It might even be worse than that…. It’s starting to feel more like… … ugh ….. here it comes….. “OHHHHHHH WHAT!?? A jUmPiNg DoUbLe FrOm CoLd, HoW dOeS hE DoEs He Do It!?”

[@ZachhhCasper]

this came up on my recommended the day fnatic won a major in 2023. watched the whole match cheering for boaster. so glad he was able to get his title!

[@mounttouch8724]

"First of all thak you for the question" thats where i knew him first time and became his fan.

[@marpaung_mitsubishi]

true hahaha

[@existencedesign7369]

basically he enjoy every single moment of his life and he never take him self seriously. what an amazing players, leader and person. love you boaster

[@rpchn5698]

"Lighten the mood" is a quality that ignored by many team when building their squad, no need to be the igl but just someone who can relieve the preassure when things not going their way

[@Snuffalo]

thank god dimitri is out for this one, he clearly doesn't like doing valorant vids, so don't let him

[@rabeyasultana1523]

That guy's just a CSGO fanboy

[@only1kingz]

This needs to be said.

[@alifgudboi]

i don't want damitri ruins my favorite IGL

[@glistendsouza4125]

All effort paid offf today

[@notnothaze]

im ngl, the plane joke made me kinda upset when i saw it live, but looking back on it, it was pretty fucking funny lol

[@sunset_anime]

probably how they thought about it as well, boaster was probably like "guys trust me itl be way funnier when we look back on it"

[@wat_question_mark]

he is like Tom Holland of eSports

[@maxzhang8863]

i keep forgetting just how close the sen vc fnc final was

[@kevinnosaurus793]

Closest 3-0 ive ever seen

[@gautamvaze1101]

It was 3 rounds from the closest bo5 possible

[@aadharshj10]

@@kevinnosaurus793 still

[@Bxcars]

If the Valorant esports scene was an anime. Boaster would be the outgoing one that's a favourite in the community.

[@dal3947]

his streams are also one of the bestsssss. he like teaches you the know-hows mid game!! this guy is a legend

[@tvaddict6491]

Boaster has had my heart since 2021. At a time when everyone was going crazy for Tenz...I had my eye out for Boaster. Whatever he's accomplished today, he deserved it. 10/10 solid guy! And he's extremely talented. From Valorant to dancing to singing to rapping. He's got it all!

[@Arelia39]

Damn... his positive energy... I love it a lot...

[@rox13e]

Boasted is not just a streamer. He is so sociable and replies to almost every questions I ask in stream. He guides his viewers...

[@zhienlee3133]

He even gives free valorant lessons 🥺

[@syedhasnain4777]

this dude won back 2 back. What a legend!

[@bitrategaming8604]

He did it

[@speakingof8106]

"in the thousands to see him clapping kids" - theScore esports, 12/7/2021

[@mksaiharshwardhan4222]

It feels really good to know how one game can change so many people lives from average jonas to flights to Boaster

[@amay3376]

he finally won !!!!!!!!! just here to say that

[@menyakz]

Boaster is such a vibe. I hope he gets to Berlin and Champions. Boaster is like Dendi in Dota 2

[@TeggyTeggyTeggy]

Dude is humble as hell and just enjoys every moment of the event.

[@hsp1259]

Here after Fnatic finally won at LOCK IN. I've never been happier for him!

[@Hr1sto1171]

Ayo wake up theScore, time for an update

[@justc1re617]

Boaster is my fav player and it's not even close. It was about time for this vid

[@SixPathz]

Dropping a comment after Fnatic won the Lock In tournament. Boaster is an excellent IGL, choosing to bring a positive and lighthearted environment in encouraging his teammates versus a hyper-competitive attitude. This isn’t anything new, Boaster has always had this enjoyable personality dating back several years. Wishing the best for Fnatic in 2023, it is gonna be a MONSTER year for them.

[@bragston927]

back when derke had hair

[@wetsuitcandy]

LIterally beautiful. I never knew about this side of Boaster. Such an emotionally strong and wholesome man

[@JakesYan]

Boaster and his Yinsu (His Girlfriend) said in a stream that they weren't even interviewed or asked even a single question by theScoreEsports prior to making the video. IDK but how could you write or tell a story properly about someone without even talking to the person himself?

[@shlokechakraborty9873]

They gathered info from other interviews ig

[@FelixMorgan]

Yeah, and SUMN FC was his team from the start, he didn’t join them. He’s spoken about that on Plat Chat previously.

[@lotus4147]

Sometimes they ask people and they don’t respond for an interview. So they just finish the video without the interview.

[@xXXhighrollerx]

They could make a follow-up video with an interterview after a couple more tourneys and such

[@narhwallord6985]

I don't understand how a bigger deal isn't made about this. Isn't that part of journalism?

[@MarshalBhau69]

Watching after Fnatic won Lock in Sao Paulo,Brazil

[@xBiGGYBGx]

I still get goosebumps whenever i see the cadian clutch, goddamn that was beautiful

[@nguyener14]

Perfect timing for this recommendation

[@orangebiscuit4759]

boaster unironically looks like half his age

[@isabellepansoy2296]

he started puberty when he was 18 thats why

[@lucasahn3814]

This is a good video. Boasters is pretty cool.

[@isymetric1675]

I had a headache before watching this and his humour made me forget about my headache. He's slowly becoming one of my favourite streamers

[@rocky-kf1dr]

i saw a video of him crying because they won the championship and now im here

[@benjaminmcclelland2464]

The fnatic v liquid game a week ago was hilarious. All of the player photos for fnatic had boaster in the background photobombing, sometimes he was more in the shot than the player who's photo it was.

[@RetroWiki267]

04/03/2023 - The day we saw Fnatic Boaster's mastermind in VCT LOCK IN Finale

[@user104oeueiw]

and hes a theater kid!! what i like the most about him is that hes fun and making the game entertaining, he is good GOOD too, hes a complete package.

[@envyctus]

Lovely skipper for FNATIC. Hope to see him and his team come back strong and make it to EMEA, then to Masters Berlin.

[@unclepodger]

Unfortunately that didn't happen :(

[@mememinister5224]

@@unclepodger it happened now, for the final vct berlin (champions)

[@gh0sT2018]

@@mememinister5224 fnc lost :-(

[@dale6890]

Guess what

[@ngnl_irisoul]

He's honestly the definition of a esports celebrity tbh. He's got the personality, good skills, he tries hard and is enthusiastic

[@Zvilll]

The momment I know he is special is during all the IGL interview.

[@LotusTheWise]

Bro the Pokémon joke lmfao i cant do this anymore

[@NaXXG69]

Finally he won his first trophy 🔥

[@legacys24]

And now he has an event win. I tip the hat 💯

[@Boss.Stephen]

3:22 "OK guys, Dimitri's out for this video..." I mean, it's a VALORANT player's video, who would've guessed...

[@LemuelCarranza]

boaster and patiphan are super eccentric

[@khalidpranto1154]

HE made it :')

[@itztomski337]

That is the closest 3-0 sweep I have ever seen

[@sethmarko8479]

well when your party looking for people they never look for the bard but when it's the darkest hour a guy breaking in song shines his brightest even in face of the enemy.

[@KartikLende10]

Watching this after Boaster Finally Won A Final

[@thedudewhocriedhitmarker5404]

Boaster is the man! He has the charisma and the brains.

[@aadharshj10]

Boaster is such a chad

[@ritzycobalt7712]

boaster is one of my favorite players rn, he's genuinely so enjoyable to watch.

[@ramza8355]

Now he has done it. I think this is one of the differences between CS and Valorant. In CS, because there is not much different between teams and individuals, individual skill is more important than anything. But in Valorant, you can't make it to the top with just pure aim. You need someone that good in aim, good in calling shot, good in timing their abilities, good in multitasking (pay attention to their utilities), etc.

[@G4mech4nger257]

Please we need a part 2 now that he's won

[@jerilcherian9764]

Boaster is the Tom Holand of Valorant ESports

[@johncapistrano5913]

Boaster is simply the epitome of an underdog story. Utmost respect to the man.

[@classi-cal]

looool 19:45 i totally missed this on stream but The Voice reference gag is so good.

[@c3rkz918]

little did he know, a year later, he took the W along with his fellow mates

[@ryeen0284]

Boaster has a career if he leaves professional play. He has won so many hearts that he can fall to content creation if he needs or chooses it.

[@-_-noxe-_-5623]

And now he has his trophy !

[@boderlinep1976]

I remember those Excel vlogs, they were so funny i am glad he was able to continue his career and still perform as well

[@henn2k951]

may have not won iceland but he won our hearts

[@darksoulzz7779]

Boaster is the best character in valorant right now

[@swirly9986]

Theatre kids, very str8 *wrist flick*

[@sauccy9112]

Honestly he seems like a genuine great person

[@chrisliao8300]

The story we have been waiting for

[@astradarius]

First time I heard of him was because he danced to The Feels from Twice, then to Pop from Nayeon and then to OMG from New Jeans, but he seems to be a good player as well not only a dancer 😅

[@morshedarifin]

He have done it atlast. Boaster finally got his world title

[@thomasjones377]

I have never heard of this guy but now I want to see him and AverageJonas collab. Dude is absolutely hilarious.

[@tcetboi4433]

to see this video after he has won LOCK//IN sao paolo is just so adorable

[@randomystic8602]

Interesting to see how much things have changed in just a couple of years, Fnatic now have had back to back Lock In and Masters wins while Sentinels are struggling in the highest level

[@chib3003]

the tenz frenzy clip is colds jumping double

[@guntalks9048]

He made it! The clown out clowned everyone and he’s a world champion now .Respect 🧡🧡🧡

[@ThatsAmore123]

This man taught me one thing: Theatre kids who also love esports and gaming exist in the world

[@novo4101]

Love seeing my kind being represented

[@Jezreeldindin]

been waiting for this for so long now 😭

[@jioonn]

TenZ's ace is the new Coldzera clip for theScore

[@nully1579]

bro the tenz frenzy ace clip is basically the new jumping coldzera clip for thescore esports now

[@gulayanagcol4800]

You just can't hate this guy.

[@senpai3594]

The man. The Legend. The IGL. Master of the turn table art.

[@jubalistic]

Boaster is my favorite valorant pro to this day