One of the most legendary players in Dota and Dota 2 has officially retired from competitive play due to health reasons.
Clinton “Fear” Loomis says he’s retiring due to a persistent arm injury will transition to a coaching role for his team, Evil Geniuses.
“I have been living my dream of being a professional gamer for over a decade now, and in that time I’ve accomplished each of the goals I placed for myself and for EG Dota,” Fear wrote in the official news release. “Now, I have to pursue a new goal – getting healthy. I still have a passion for Dota and for competing, but the long term health of my arm has to come first.”
Celebrated for his individual skill and extreme versatility, Fear’s history with Dota 2 was prominently featured in Valve’s documentary Free to Play, which helped cement his status as a Dota legend.
In 2011, he joined Evil Geniuses and experienced varying degrees of success. Then in late 2013, Evil Geniuses’ roster underwent a complete overhaul, with Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg, and Peter “ppd” Dager joining original members Fear and Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora.
The team soon dominated the North American online circuit. But Fear’s medical situation began to deteriorate. On May. 28, 2014, the team announced that he would be sidelined for two months due to wrist injuries. And that meant he’d miss out on the International. But he’d return in 2015, which would become his most successful year ever as a competitor. Evil Geniuses won both the Dota 2 Asian Championship as well as the International 5, which combined secured the team roughly $7.9 million in prize money.
Now, Fear is putting an end to a career that has spanned roughly a decade. But he’s already forged a legacy that will surely influence the competitive game for years to come.
