LDLC member Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez has announced that he has decided to retire as a professional player.

In a Twitlonger post, Mathieu "⁠Maniac⁠" Quiquerez explained that this was "a very emotional and well-thought decision", with which he now "feels at peace".

The announcement comes just hours after a report from Flickshot.fr revealed that Maniac was contemplating retirement, with Timothée "⁠DEVIL⁠" Démolon following the Swiss out of the door in LDLC. The duo are expected to be replaced by former Misfits members David "⁠devoduvek⁠" Dobrosavljevic and François "⁠AmaNEk⁠" Delaunay, who have been without a team since mid-February.

Maniac hangs up his mouse

Maniac is mostly known for his first LDLC stint, during which the team placed top eight at the ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014 Major and top four at ESL One Cologne 2014. In January 2016, after an indifferent spell in Titan, he joined EnVyUs as a coach, only to step down from the role six months later to play competitively again.

That summer, he joined Unity, a Danish team that would go on to sign for Rogue, before inking a deal with LDLC, in February 2017. During his second spell with the French organisation, the 27-year-old helped the team to win ESWC 2017 over BIG and to finish second at Assembly Winter 2018.

"I will be forever grateful for the opportunities that were given to me," Maniac wrote. "Becoming a professional player was a dream come true. "I've invested a lot of time in gaming, but it has given back to me tenfold. I wish I could thank every single person who's had a positive impact on me along the way. "To all of you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."