Ekop · @Ekop
2nd Jul 2020 from TwitLonger
Goodbye Pro-Gaming
A lot of you probably already saw this coming or even thought it happened already...
By the time I send out this tweet it's my 32nd Birthday, which is probably a good time to make an official statement like this. I hope that it'll help me further to come to terms with the fact that it's time to finally step away from the professional gaming scene and focus on the future.
It's been one hell of a journey that started back when I got my hands on the Hearthstone beta almost 7 years ago. I stepped foot into this world with a passionate mindset and a series of fortunate events allowed me to make a decent living, realizing my dream job.
But unfortunately everything eventually ends. Unlike most other pros who worked hard and had to wait for their success, I got catapulted straight to the top from the start. I was on Cloud 9, figuratively and literally. I never expected to get that large of a following after just 5 days of streaming Hearthstone. All I did was play the game on a high level with great passion and have fun. So I thought if I just keep doing what I'm doing right now things will be great. However because of that thinking i never evolved.
I didn't realize back then what it takes to not only keep your following but also grow it.
Consistency is obviously the key to success be it stream schedule, competitive accomplishments or the way you present yourself. As time I became more and more fed up with Hearthstone and so I couldn't bring myself to be as passionate about the game as I used to. This of course was a slow process that spanned multiple years but with every day my waning passion resulted in me not playing as much as i used to, ergo not streaming as much as I used to, ergo not competing as much I used to, ergo not showing my love for the game on stream as I used to. It was a vicous cycle as the steady decline of my popularity impacted the decline of my passion until eventually I had enough and quit Hearthstone altogether for Artifact.
Artifact was supposed to be my 2nd chance and I was ready to start again, but we all know what happened to that game. Maybe the damage was already done anyway and even if Artifact ended up being a popular game. I wouldn't have made it back to the level i once was at.
Legends of Runeterra was a ray of light for me and it is in fact an amazing game with lost of potential but just a ray of light is not gonna be bright enough outshine the dark abyss that is my bank account running out of money that I saved up from years ago.
I have lost all hope to ever have a future as a professional player again until i can somehow find my passion again by some miracle. However with a steady decline of interest for cardgames by the general public I don't see a future for cardgames and therefore don't think i will find that passion again.
As for my future I will continue to follow my plan B of pedagogy. Hopefully i will get to work with elementary school kids in some way.
I want to thank everyone who I had the pleasure of interacting with during this amazing time.
I will miss the thrill of competing in high stakes matches on a grand stage.
I will miss being a source of entertainment for thousands of people.
I will miss all the travel opportunities, the events and all the stories that came out of them.
I will miss gaming as I used to know it since it won't ever be the same again for me.
Special thanks to:
Artosis for giving me a chance back then and basically launching my career.
All the teammates I had that helped me become a better player and kept the level of passion high especially my OG Dogehouse mates Gnimsh and Nyhx.
All the Event Organizers without which I wouldn't have most of my most memorable experiences.
Every one of my followers...whenever I reflect on it it's hard to believe that so many people had a reason to watch me play games since I always assume there's so many better things people could do with their time. So thanks for hanging out with me, all of you kept me going.
And of course all the friends I made along the way (way too many to name). I will always be your friend and even if we don't talk much you can rest assured that I will always be there for you if you need help, someone to talk to or just want to hang out and play some games. I hope we stay in touch.
I love you all
take care of yourselves and be nice to each other <3