Pobelter won’t play in LCS Spring Split, but he won’t retire either

LCS veteran Eugene “Pobelter” Park doesn’t plan on playing in the LCS in the 2020 Spring Split, the player announced earlier today.

Pobelter, via a Twitlonger post, explained the emotional toll of being passed over by teams in the busy offseason. Just two seasons ago, he was Team Liquid’s mid laner. Now, he doesn’t have a team. But the 23-year-old isn’t going to retire.

Although he thinks it’s “crazy” he wasn’t signed to a team, especially when he was apparently okay with taking a pay cut or going through tryouts, Pobelter is still determined to make it back into North America’s premier league.

“I still think I’m one of the best players, Pobelter said. “It bums me out to read that the mainstream opinion is that I’m ‘good enough for NA, can’t perform on the international stage.’ … By the way, I don’t think I’ve hit my ceiling yet. I think you only start to fall off permanently when your motivation / drive drops, and I’m still just as motivated as the first day I played on the LCS stage and willing to put in 12+ hours a day practicing.”

Pobelter played the 2019 season with FlyQuest, which finished fourth in the Spring Split Playoffs before falling to ninth in the summer. Before signing with FlyQuest, Pobelter was Liquid’s starting mid laner. With Liquid, Pobelter won the 2018 Spring and Summer Split Playoffs, the first two domestic titles in the organization’s history.