Former South Korean Overwatch player Jung ‘Xzi’ Ki-hyo has announced his retirement from the Blizzard title and said in a statement that he has considered a switch to Valorant, or content creation.
The former Dallas Fuel and Florida Mayhem player took to Twitch on November 20 to tell his fans that he will not return to the Overwatch League for the 2023 season. Xzi later released a Twitlonger explaining that he has been disappointed in his level of play recently and that he could not play much during the middle of the 2022 season due to “internal reasons.”
He also said there are other players on the market that have had better seasons than him and that he is not positioned to compete well against them since he took a break last season due to neck and back issues.
“In conclusion, I’m going to try to take the next step. It could be a streamer or a player. I think it will be Valorant if I try as a professional player,” Xzi said.
Xzi teases Valorant switch after Overwatch retirement
Xzi claims that he used to be the No. 1 ranked player on the Valorant ranked ladder in South Korea and that he hit Radiant, the top tier of the ranked system, in North America in two weeks of grinding.
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“I’m pretty confident, so I’m going to slowly work hard from the bottom to the top like what I did in Overwatch,” he said.
Thank you so much OWhttps://t.co/kMrBd7gUcJ
— Xzi (@xzi_ow) November 21, 2022
Xzi has been competing in Overwatch esports since he was 17. The 21-year-old player has played for Paris Eternal, Dallas Fuel and Florida Mayhem over his time in OWL. He got his start with the Overwatch Contenders team Element Mystic.
In his time in Overwatch, Xzi won the OWL Countdown Cup, Summer Showdown and the first season of Contenders Korea.
The Valorant offseason is ongoing as teams continue to form in Asia for VCT Challengers and organizations in the partnered league can still pick up players for the 2023 season.