Most esports pros end their careers around the age of 30. After that, they take up something else. What exactly? Read this post from the CS.MONEY Blog to find out!
Commentators and streamers
A rather obvious and popular strategy is to switch from being a pro player to a sportscaster or streamer. You can even combine these two roles. To provide an example, that’s exactly what Arseniy “ceh9” Trynozhenko, a former NAVI player, does. For 8 years now, he’s been broadcasting on Twitch and doing sportscasting in tier-1 tournaments.
By far the most famous streamer who used to be an esports pro is Michael “shroud” Grzesiek. Like many pro CS players, he was already streaming before his career ended (his last club being Cloud9). At some point, streaming started to bring him more fun than performing in esports events. And so Michael fully devoted himself to streaming. He only returns to CS on some huge occasions, normally preferring to play totally different games.
Sportscasting isn’t exclusively available for popular players. For instance, famous English-speaking sportscasters HenryG and Launders used to play in the pro scene, too. While they didn’t achieve great achievements in esports, they completely fulfilled their potential in their new profession.
Coaches
Another common type of activity after a career, practiced not only in esports: say, in football, almost all coaches are former players. And this makes sense: over a career, a person accumulates tons of experience, which they can later share with young blood.
Arguably the most striking example of a player-turned-coach is Danny “zonic” Sørensen. As part of Astralis, he won four Majors — something no one else has ever achieved, come to think of it. Danny is currently with Vitality, and he may be the first coach to have won a Major as a member of two different clubs.
Swtiching to Valorant
Valorant dropped in the summer of 2020. Since then, many CS veterans have pivoted to the shooter from Riot. For example, Spencer “Hiko” Martin, who’s known for representing Liquid in CS and who’s reached Major finals twice.
In 2018, Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham won a Major with Cloud9; a while later, he ended his career as a professional gamer and started streaming. But when Valorant came out, Tyler returned to esports — and not to CS, as you might have guessed.
Sometimes, CS players would leave for Valorant, but then come back. This category includes Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella. After he left Liquid in August 2020, he played in the Valorant pro scene for a year and a half and then returned to his hometown club. Presently, he plays CS again.
Management-related jobs
Another common practice borrowed from ‘traditional’ sports. After their career ends, some players become administrators and take managerial positions.
Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez was a professional League of Legends player. In 2013, he founded the esports club G2. Now it’s one of the most successful organizations in the industry, both financially and performance-wise. For example, G2’s CS:GO squad made it to the finals of the Stockholm Major and IEM Katowice 2022, and their sponsors include BMW, Mastercard, and Adidas.
Careers outside esports
Some people step away from esports to discover uncharted territory. For example, Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, an old-school esports pro (he played Quake, Painkiller, and other games), founded a company that sells headphones, system units, and accessories for PCs.
An esports pro’s career isn’t particularly long-lived. There have been, as yet at least, no examples of people in their 40s continuing to play at the pro level. After their career is over, every pro player chooses a new path.
