Former support player for Overwatch League franchise Washington Justice Riley “Fahzix” Taylor has announced his retirement from the professional Overwatch scene. Instead, Fahzix stated that he wanted to pursue his degree in computer engineering, along with competing at the collegiate esports level.
Thank you, Overwatch
Read: https://t.co/dPWByJVNJb
— Riley Taylor (@FahZix) November 27, 2019
Fahzix departs Washington Justice
“To move past the past now, I want to cement myself as the first Overwatch League player to play in collegiate Overwatch. (Joemeister and Shake are both [a part] of a collegiate program right now but as coaches/management),” wrote Fahzix in a statement on Twitter. “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 explained that he started competing in Overwatch after graduating with an associate’s degree in science but did not know what he wanted to major in. Because of this and the fact that he was decent at the game, he decided to try going professional. Later, he competed for teams like KATT5, Envision Esports, NRG Esports, and the Washington Justice.
Education and collegiate esports
“To everyone that supported me through my stream (including just watching/chatting) you were a significant portion of the reason I was able to make my dream come true, and with a heavy-heart writing this, Thank you,” continued Fahzix. “Thank you for making it all possible for someone who had [zero] idea what he wanted to do. And lastly, thank you Blizzard/Overwatch, without you I would not be writing this.”
The Washington Justice placed almost dead last during the 2019 Overwatch League Regular Season. Two months into the season, Fahzix revealed he would be taking a break from competitive play. He then left the Justice four months later. He described that he learned a lot through his Overwatch career — admitting that he started off as an arrogant and overconfident individual.
However, with the results Fahzix has achieved so far, it is unlikely that he would have been able to have a long-lasting career. As such, it is more beneficial to pursue the collegiate esports scene. This way he can finish his degree while playing and even achieve all of this through a scholarship. As a native from Pennsylvania, there are several schools with esports programs like Harrisburg University’s HU Storm esports team.
Keep up with Daily Esports for all of your Overwatch coverage.
