Taiga ended his professional Dota 2 career
The Dota 2 scene has lost yet another player who dedicated several bright years of his life to the game. We’re talking about former OG player, Taiga, and many other well-known teams.
Despite already being on the edge due to personal issues, the player truly clung to the opportunity, and the competitive Dota 2 scene didn’t want to let him go. Tommy Le remained an active player and entered the 2024 season representing Bleed Esports from a different region. However, his comeback lasted only three months as the Norwegian player announced his final departure from the discipline.
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Taiga left Bleed after a series of failures
Taiga departed from Bleed after a series of unsuccessful results in December 2023 and has remained teamless ever since. While leaving Dota 2 is typically considered a significant step, Taiga’s new career path overshadowed that decision. Tommy revealed that he is transitioning to become a full-fledged streamer, both on the Twitch platform and Kick, the latter known for its streams featuring gambling games.
In early 2023, Taiga publicly discussed his struggle with gambling addiction with the community. As his retirement announcement coincided with his transition to the streaming service Kick, many Dota 2 fans also expressed concern about the player’s future. It is notoriously difficult to break free from gambling habits, and some suspect that he might immerse himself further into the world of gambling.
Several prominent Dota 2 players have already made the move to Kick in 2024, and the community has yet to fully assess this transition. Arteezy left Dota 2 fans with mixed feelings after his deal with Kick led to regular casino streams, and many players have also shifted their attention from Twitch streamers to Kick, resulting in a sharp decline in their viewer numbers.
Good and high player performance in regular rated pubs
What’s even more surprising is Taiga’s impressive performance in regular matchmaking games. Watching such gameplay makes you wonder if it’s too early for him to retire. The experienced position four support has gained nearly 1000 MMR in recent times, climbing from 10,000 to 11,000 points in just ten days – a remarkable achievement. Currently, Taiga ranks 176th in the European Dota 2 leaderboards, and if he can continue to progress towards a top position during his streaming journey, he might convince himself to return to the competitive scene.
Moreover, it’s worth mentioning that such departures from Dota 2 are usually short-lived, as players often struggle with the moment when they no longer need to play, practice, and compete in tournaments. It’s a completely different pace of life to which they are not accustomed. Ame is a great example of this, as the Chinese legend returned to competitive Dota 2 for the 2024 season, despite previously expressing similar intentions to retire.
