Doublelift, one of the most successful professional League of Legends players in the history of the game, has announced that he is retiring from eSports.
Doublelift, real name Yiliang Peng, has been playing professional League of Legends since 2011, and has played on three major teams, starting with CLG, before moving to TSM in 2016, followed by a brief stint with Team Liquid before returning to TSM.
In a farewell message, Doublelift spoke about his decision to retire, and recounted the successes and trials of his career.
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Why Doublelift is retiring from League of Legends.
Doublelift says that he is retiring from League of Legends because he will be “starting a new chapter of life” and will move on to other pursuits.
In his message recapping his career, he pointed out that for a lot of his time playing professionally, he struggled, hitting large hurdles and failing time and again.
He said:
“In the beginning, I lost over and over. Once, I was a single game away from being relegated. Every thread had /r/doubleliftstrophycase memes in it. I was mocked about being better on the analyst desk than in-game. My playstyle would never work, they said I was too greedy in a game that demands teamwork. For 5 years, I practiced 14 hours a day and lost every important match. Then I finally won my first LCS championship. Today, I’ve won 8 of the last 11 splits. Hard work and determination paid off.”
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Doublelift’s career highlights
As his career comes to an end, Doublelift leaves behind an impressive legacy. He was the first LCS player to reach one thousand kills, and was the LCS MVP for Summer 2018 and Finales MVP for Spring 2019.
He won eight out of eleven splits across three teams, cementing a career average that will likely remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future.
While even in his retirement announcement he noted that he wished be had performed better on the world stage, as a domestic player he remains one of the best to ever grace the League of Legends professional circuit.