CS2: Former Cloud9 (C9) ace in-game leader and rifler RUSH officially announce retirement..

Former Cloud9 (C9) ace in-game leader and rifler RUSH, announced his immediate retirement from competitive Counter Strike esports on Friday morning (Asia time) via his official X (Twitter) account.

RUSH stated in an official tweet that this was a difficult and deliberate decision, but he has decided to end his career as a professional Counter Strike esports player.

While he will no longer be a professional player, he will remain involved in the scene in other ways, including coaching and participating in CS tournaments as a talent.

RUSH wrote in the tweet: "Given my extended absence from competitive gaming over the past year, this is perhaps unsurprising. These breaks were meant to rekindle my passion for the game. In Counter Strike 2 (CS2), I did find passion when the game launched, but that spark eventually faded."

"A few years ago, I told myself I would stop playing if one of two things happened: my personal skills dropped significantly, or I stopped enjoying the professional scene."

"If either of those things happened, I'd know it was time to leave. I never wanted to be the type of player who gets a contract based solely on their name and past accolades. That would be a disservice to the fans, the organization, and especially my teammates."

"That being said, I still love everything else about Counter Strike. The main reason I've kept playing over the past few years is the opportunity to play with young, up-and-coming players." "I'm looking forward to working with up-and-coming players, mentoring them, and helping them grow both on and off the server, and the sense of accomplishment I get from that."

"I'm not sure about my career path yet, but after 12 years of competing, I've truly enjoyed it. I'm very interested in coaching in CS2, and I believe I'd excel in that role."

"I'm also willing to participate as a talent. I welcome any interested organizations or groups to contact me through my private messages."

About RUSH

Born in the United States on May 5, 1994, 31-year-old RUSH is a former professional CS esports player, primarily playing as a rifler and also as a in-game leader.

RUSH began his professional career in 2012. He played for Monomaniac, Savage, RONIN5 Gaming, Area 51, Homeless, Tempo Storm, Sponsorless, and Conquest, and also had two stints with eLevate, achieving impressive individual performances in various A- and B-tier tournaments.

In 2016, RUSH joined OpTic.

During this time, he had a clean sweep by winning the ELEAGUE Las Vegas, ELEAGUE Season 2, the Americas Minor Championships Cologne, and the Northern Arena Montreal, as well as also reached the Esports Championship European Series Season 2 Grand Finals.

In August of the following year, RUSH joined Cloud9 (C9).

During his two years with C9, he helped the team win the ELEAGUE Major Boston, the DreamHack Open Denver, and the iBuyPOWER Masters.

In September 2019, RUSH joined Complexity, where he won the BLAST Premier 2020 Spring European Finals.

In 2022, RUSH joined Evil Geniuses (EG).

His performance with EG declined, leading him to step down the following year to compete in the Challenger League with EG's sub-team.

While playing for EG Black, RUSH regained his form and won several Challenger League qualifiers with the team.

In early 2024, RUSH played for the Party Astronauts and then the Nouns, but he never quite reached the same level of success with those teams.

At the peak of his 12-year career, RUSH was named the ELEAGUE Season 2 MVP by HLTV in 2016.