Stewie2K leaving competitive CS

Jake “⁠Stewie2K⁠” Yip announced today via his Twitter account that he will be “stepping away from competitive CS and focusing on streaming.”

The news comes not long after reports surfaced suggesting that Evil Geniuses will sign Kévin “⁠misutaaa⁠” Rabier and Sanzhar “⁠neaLaN⁠” Iskhakov in the near future to replace Stewie and William “⁠RUSH⁠” Wierzba.

Despite being only 24 years old Stewie2K is one of the most decorated and tenured players in the NA scene, having won his first trophy with Cloud9 in October 2016, almost six years ago.

Since that time he has collected two HLTV MVP awards, 12 LAN trophies in total, an Intel Grand Slam, and a historic Major victory at the ELEAGUE Major 2018, the only Major that a North American team has ever won in CS:GO. He has also represented some of the biggest organisations in the Americas region, playing for Cloud9, MIBR, and Liquid.

His most recent venture, taking up the IGL mantle for Evil Geniuses, has not measured up to the rest of his storied and fruitful career; since the squad came together in January of this year they have struggled, having failed to make the Major in Antwerp and crashed out of ESL Pro League, BLAST Spring Groups and BLAST Spring Showdown without a single series victory.

Whether or not this means Stewie2K is permanently retiring remains to be seen, as his tweet also stated that his “future isn’t determined,” suggesting a future return to CS:GO may be a possibility.