Overwatch pro announces sudden retirement ahead of Overwatch League Season 2

Ted ‘Silkthread’ Wang will not be returning for Overwatch League Season 2 as he retires from the game after being one of the original players in the league.

Silkthread was a big part of the Gladiator’s success in Season 1 after coming to the team from the Valiant, and was widely considered to be one of the best players on the new Chengdu Hunters team.

A fan-favorite, he ended up being one of the most recognizable faces on the entire Gladiator’s roster.

600

• Read More: Gen.G boss says Seoul Dynasty will redeem themselves in Overwatch League Season 2 – Interview

Silkthread announced his retirement on Twitter using Twitlonger on November 30 and explained he was leaving esports for his own mental health.

First and foremost, I simply do not enjoy professional Overwatch as much as I did in the past. If you were to ask me one year ago how I felt about practicing Overwatch 14 hours a day, I would have gladly accepted the challenge and opportunity. Now, I can feel my mental levels draining extremely quickly while practicing, and I’m afraid I have reached levels of complete burnout for the game.

Secondly, the disparity in cultural differences between western esports organizations and Chinese esports organizations were far greater than I had originally anticipated. The differing standards for work hours, privacy, living conditions, off-days, and work ethic were all extremely difficult for me to adjust to.

– Ted ‘Silkthread’ Wang

Now that he’s done with Overwatch, Silkthread wrote he’s going to try and attend university, and has already applied to several schools.

• Read More: This hilarious Overwatch animation reflects how a lot of players feel about Torbjörn

The Chengdu Hunters will also have to find a new DPS player to attempt to replace Silkthread before Season 2 gets going in February 2019.