FahZix

Riley Taylor · @FahZix

27th Nov 2019 from TwitLonger

Thank you, Overwatch


Thank you, Overwatch.

tldr; I am retiring from T1/T2 Overwatch and streaming to pursue Collegiate and study Computer Engineering. (The text below tells my story)

I have decided to retire from pursuing professional Overwatch as well as streaming. I wanted to tell my story as best and as short as I can for anyone that is interested in reading. Through out my time going pro, I have learned so much about myself and what I truly want in the future, and I can not thank Overwatch/Blizzard enough.
To start, I always had an itch to go professional in a video game. I really felt like I almost made this dream come true in both SC2 and LoL, but I'm not the kind of person to settle for 'almost'. It just so happened that Overwatch was finally announced and I believed this could be the game where I make it. In school, where I graduated with an Associate's degree in science, I still had no idea what the hell I wanted to major in. This is where I thought, if I could build a brand from streaming and being decent at this game, I could skip going clueless in school to something I really really wanted.
What is truly amazing about this journey was that I can confidently say that I did it. I joined 5 teams, and was contracted to 3 of those 5. From Katt5, Envision, NRG, Justice, and finally a bit of Bermuda, I have met so many amazing and inspiring individuals, traveled the world, and picked up so many things that I would have never known about myself if it wasn't for these teams and players.
I have also met a lot of not so great people as well, but I like to see these kinds of people as learning experiences for the future. I would be lying to myself if I thought this path was perfect and happy-go-lucky, and hell, I'm glad some of these people showed up because sometimes the world can be harsh and overly difficult. I've seen it all, from generally unqualified people to childish mockery. I felt like this was too important to leave out of my story. Also, I was not a perfect person either when I first started, actually to be frank I was an arrogant, overconfident individual. The time frame from when I started going pro to now changed my personality and opened me up to different ways to think about things and people.
To move past the past now, I want to cement myself as the first OWL player to play in collegiate Overwatch. (Joemeister and Shake are both apart of a collegiate program right now but as coaches/management). I can not stress how important this is for me and for the future of collegiate esports in general. This means I will have to completely cut my streaming career. I just will not have the time study, practice, and stream.
To everyone that supported me through my stream (including just watching/chatting) you were a significant portion of the reason I was able to make my dream come true, and with a heavy-heart writing this, Thank you. Thank you for making it all possible for someone who had 0 idea what he wanted to do.
And lastly, Thank you Blizzard/Overwatch, without you I would not be writing this.

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