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Taiga retires from professional Dota 2
Tommy "Taiga" Le, the previous roaming support for OG Esports, Team Liquid, and Alliance announced that he will be retiring from the competitive Dota 2 scene. Time will tell if this is Taiga retires permanently or if this will be an extended break.
The player intends to focus on streaming and coaching in the future, offering his 12,000 MMR insight into the game.
A look back into Taiga's greatest achievements in Dota 2
Tommy has been competing in Dota 2 for seven years now and during that time he has racked up an impressive list of achievements.
During his time with Alliance, he played a part in a historic match against RNG, which saw his team mis-pick Gyrocopter and still put up an amazing performance.
After leaving Alliance with his squad, Taiga went on to join Team Liquid for a couple of years. This was a quieter time in his life, with a first-place finish at ESL One Germany 2020 being his most impressive result.
Taiga and the rest of Team Liquid parted ways in 2021, with the remaining four staying on Liquid while Tommy tried his luck with OG Esports.
His time with OG was the most impressive in his career, with two Major trophies being picked up, two appearances in Riyadh Masters, and a top-eight finish at The International 11.
Unfortunately, after the 2022 Dota 2 season, things went downhill for the roaming support.
Taiga struggled with a gambling addiction
In the 2023 Dota 2 season, OG was playing multiple matches without Taiga, using stand-ins to compete.
Dota 2 fans had questions about the changes, wondering if the Norwegian player was still a part of the team or if OG planned on making changes.
Sadly it turned out that Taiga had been struggling with a gambling problem at the time. It began after TI11 and spiraled out of control.
"I got myself into something that's out of character for me, which is gambling. The me that always stood by my principles to never get involved with gambling as I know the negative impact it has on a person's life. I started gambling after TI11 around the World Cup for soccer, later advanced to basketball, tennis and the worst one, casino.
Every day was a nightmare thinking about what I had lost and worked so hard for, all the hours and years that I spent on grinding went to waste just like that in the span of a couple of months. Everything in me changed, my principles, my behaviors and even my personality shifted, it didn't feel like me at all. Looking back, I'm still disgusted by myself and took a long time to forgive."
Thankfully it looks like Taiga is in a better place now. However, his Dota 2 career took a big hit in 2023.
After departing OG, Tommy joined five different teams and couldn't achieve success with any of them. Recognizing that it isn't his time right now, Taiga retires from competing professionally with an impressive list of accolades.
We wish him luck and all the best in the future.
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Featured Image Source: ESL
