Yeah it’s mostly 2nd tier players who can see a salary bump from switching or have been banned from CS for previous rule violations.

I hope Valorant kicks Valve into gear a bit. I have played many hours of both and CS:GO is a much better game (simplicity, balance, opportunity for individual skill) but we will see...

An interesting thing from an esport perspective: Riot tightly controls Valorant matches, whilst Valve will let anyone run and monetise a CS tournament. I think this will make CS a more healthy scene in the long run.

Yes, top players really are leaving CS for Valorant, though this is mainly limited to the NA scene afaik (two examples who were on top teams: Ethan[0] and nitr0[1]).

Other than that, it is mainly those washed players leaving, yes. Which still isn't healthy for the scene, and means the NA CS scene effectively doesn't exist any more (this isn't hyperbole, there are only two good NA teams right now and both were flown out to Europe by their orgs to compete there instead).

[0]: https://www.hltv.org/player/10671/ethan

[1]: https://www.hltv.org/player/7687/nitr0

As with most things in life, those that are at the top have little reason to switch to something new. When everyone else moves on and new talent comes up, that is when you see things change. I wouldn't be surprised though if both games and pro scenes co-exist successfully.