Fahzix announces retirement from professional Overwatch

Former Washington Justice support player Riley “Fahzix” Taylor announced yesterday that he would be retiring from professional Overwatch to return to college.

In his announcement, Fahzix said that he plans to return to school so that he could pursue his college degree, but would compete in Overwatch at the collegiate esports level.

Posting his official statement on Twitter, Fahzix stated that he wants to “cement” himself as “the first OWL player to play in college Overwatch.” Fahzix also mentioned the importance of obtaining his college degree while speaking to the future of esports, as well as the future of collegiate esports. “I cannot 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 [to] study, practice, and stream,” Fahzix wrote.

Fahzix was primarily a support player during his career with his first appearance in the Overwatch taking place in 2016 during the LATT5. Fahzix later joined EnVision eSports in 2017 and helped the team take home first place at DreamHack Montreal 2017, as well as a top four finish during Contenders Season 1: North America in the same year. After joining NRG Esports in 2018, he helped the team win the Pit Championship - North America Season 3 while adding another top four finish at Contenders Season 2: North America. Signed by Washington Justice in 2018, Fahzix only played during Stage 1 before leaving the team toward the end of the year to focus solely on his streaming career.

The news of Fahzix’s retirement comes only a few days after fellow esports competitor AKM announced that he, too, would be retiring from Overwatch League.

Read Fahzix’s full statement here.