termo retires from professional Overwatch

termo took to Twitter recently to announce his retirement from competitive Overwatch, bringing to an end one of the Oceanic scene's most storied careers. His step back from competing came just over a week after Dark Sided announced the release of their Overwatch talent, despite their recent second place Contenders Australia finish.

termo competing with Team Australia in the 2016 World Cup. Image credit: Blizzard

Before his Overwatch career, termo was a well known Demoman player in the Team Fortress 2 competitive community. His TF2 experience, which included a fourth place finish at Insomnia 52 with Team Immunity, eased his transition into Blizzard's first FPS title.

Following the release of Overwatch commercially, termo competed with Chiefs eSports Club and Tempo Storm AUS. He was also a member of the 2016 Australian World Cup team. Later on he joined 4Legs, swapping roles from offtank to DPS. 4Legs emerged as one of Australia's best teams in early 2017, placing second in the ESL ANZ LAN Championship and the Cybergamer OCE Circuit.

termo and 4Legs, who would later be signed by Kings Esports Club, established themselves as the top dog Down Under in late 2017, winning consecutive Open Division championships and the OCE Bi-Monthly Brawl. However, the departure of yuki derailed the team's dominance, resulting in a disappointing finish in the first Open Division season of 2018.

Internal division within the team resulted in termo departing for Dark Sided before the commencement of Contenders Australia Season 1. While Dark Sided did not manage to secure a Contenders championship, they were a strong presence in the two seasons they competed in. Most recently, termo and the team turned in a second place finish at the Melbourne Esports Open, falling to the Sydney Drop Bears after a thrilling 3-2 victory over ORDER in the semis.

When asked about the reasoning behind his retirement, termo stated that the financial difficulties of competing in the Oceanic scene had become too significant for him to ignore. He hinted at the possibility of a return if competing provides greater incentives down the track.