Jerax Retires from Dota
Jerax leaves OG (active roster) to retire from Dota
Shortly after OG announces their plan to return to competitive Dota for the ESL LA Major, they drop the news first that Ana will continue to stay on vacation, and now that Jerax has chosen to retire from playing professionally. After winning two TIs in a row, fans wondered what was next for OG. Could they win the Valve impossible third? Or would they fail to live up to their legend by continuing to compete?
Jerax's Thoughts About Dota
OG continue to go above and beyond in everything they do, and their statement on JerAx's decision is no different. Here a few highlights about his decision from the man himself:
Dota 2 as a game is this endless puzzle that offers you solutions, yet none of them completely crack it. Ever since I started to play it, it’s been a journey of learning. As I played more and more, the information and knowledge of the game had an overwhelming affect on me, and it became an addiction of some sort to understand every single detail about it.
The competitive environment ultimately pushes everyone to be best at all times, yet it’s not possible to keep it up. We have tournaments, one after another testing each team’s capability, and the reality is cruel. After dropping out of tournaments there isn’t much time to reform as a team. Any major changes are a big risk, as the timeline is short. Regardless to if you really wanted to win the tournament or if you considered it as a learning experience, it is draining to consistently have bad results.
Living in this culture has hit me hard. Thinking about the yearly “grind” makes me feel apathetic, exhausted, and almost numb...What’s confusing for me, is that the win itself doesn’t really bring me the joy. It’s the creative work behind it.... I have no willingness nor passion to play Dota 2 anymore, and I have trouble fitting myself into my competitor’s shoes. For me the decision to pursue to another direction is clear, and I have no doubts about it.
JerAx's full statement goes into detail about the passion, struggles, risks, and rewards of playing professional Dota with honesty we are rarely rewarded with from professional players. The above quotes are shortened to give a general idea of his statement, you can find the full version here. OG assures us that he remains part of the OG family, and is only stepping away from the active playing roster.
The community speaks up to honor a legend
Since the moment of the announcement, many have spoken up to honor all of JerAx's accomplishments. Here are a few to look at and remember:
Is Siractionslacks right? Will JerAx stay retired, or will he follow in the footsteps of the Director?
ResponsibleGambling
