LoL pro Doublelift officially ends his career. In an emotional video, he reflects on his career and discusses the reasons. MeinMMO reveals the details.
Yiliang Peter Doublelift
Peng has announced his retirement from the LoL professional scene after more than a decade. Doublelift is one of the few North American players who have been at the top of the LCS throughout most of his career. Now he has announced in an emotional video that this time he is really
stepping away from his career as a professional player for good.
Who is Doublelift?
- Doublelift has achieved legendary status as an ADC. He played for CLG, TSM, Team Liquid, and most recently for 100 Thieves. With TSM, he won three LCS titles. In total, he has won eight titles.
- His influence on the US LoL scene is undoubtedly significant. Alongside Bjergsen, he was a shaping figure of American LoL.
- However, he was kicked from TSM after a dispute with the boss Reginald, after which he swore to take revenge on the team. He switched to Team Liquid and actually won four championships in 2018 and 2019. He then returned to TSM.
- At the end of 2020, Doublelift ended his career after TSM completely failed at the LoL Worlds 2020, finishing with a 0-6 record.
- During this time, Doublelift built a successful Twitch channel.
- In 2023, he returned to play for 100 Thieves. At 30 years old, he is one of the oldest LoL professionals.
What does Doublelift say in the video? In this video on YouTube, Doublelift reflects on his career, which has been marked by highs and lows. His first break occurred in Season 7 due to mental issues, while his second retirement after leaving TSM in Season 10 was due to external pressure and the need for a break to gather
himself again. I knew in my heart that I would come back and try again
, he emphasizes. For him, the breaks were not really an end, but this time he means it seriously.
I am retiring, this time for real.
What reasons does he mention? He highlighted two main reasons, including financial sacrifices and the changed climate of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) and Esports in general. He explains that he earns more streaming on Twitch than in the professional scene. I made a really big financial sacrifice by switching from streaming last year to playing [in the professional scene] because I really wanted to play.
You can watch the entire video here:
Doublelift chased the dream of winning the League of Legends Worlds
Doublelift expressed concerns about the development of the LCS and Esports in general. His dream of becoming world champion and achieving something internationally for America is far from reality. There are not many teams willing to spend money, so there are only a few competitive rosters. Doublelift also emphasizes that he has achieved all his goals in his career except for winning the world championship title.
I want to start a family
Besides the mentioned reasons, Doublelift especially emphasizes that he wants to move into the next phase of his life. Doublelift expresses that he would like to get married and start a family. Currently, he is in a relationship with Leena Xu, the former manager of TSM.
He reflects that pursuing his professional career while fulfilling these life goals would be unreasonable
because he tends to dedicate every hour of the day to gaming as a professional player.
Doublelift has not always been so self-assured
The professional player also shares in the video about his youth. He shares his development from an insecure, socially anxious teenager to an adult man with his own personality and self-confidence. He says:
If I could go back in time and talk to my 15-year-old self – that I would have this life, that I would have fans and a career and be successful. It would just not make any sense.
How could that be something my old self would believe? I was literally the biggest loser in my school. Seriously, I was always embarrassed by my appearance, embarrassed by my social skills. I was always super panicky when I talked to someone.
Doublelift via YouTube
The now former professional player also expressed his passion for the game and the community. Despite saying goodbye to competition, Doublelift assured that he will continue to dedicate himself to the League of Legends community by creating content, hosting streams, and participating in events. He expressed his deep gratitude to his fans who have supported him on his journey, saying that he will always owe them.
Despite the slightly sad note, he feels overall very happy when he looks back on his experiences and thinks about how lucky he was to experience all these things. He emphasizes that the search for happiness and contentment has been a constant struggle in his life, but he has learned to be satisfied with what he has and not to constantly strive for the next thing.
He concludes by highlighting that without fans and the League community, his life as a pro would not have been the same. I will always owe you everything I have, so yes, thank you.
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