Cented is leaving Fortnite due to harassment

Former FaZe Clan player Cented has stated that he will be retiring from competitive Fortnite. He cited harassment from other players as the reason for this, which has reportedly severely affected his mental health. He will be retiring from the game, and probably esports, for the time being. 

Canadian Fortnite pro Evan “Cented” Barron has announced via social media that he is retiring from the game. In a recent Twitter post, Cented explained that the reason for his resignation is targeted harassment against him, which has kept cropping up and making his life difficult.

These insults are no coincidence, but a result of the video of Cented making a racist remark that surfaced last year in summer. He has since apologized and acknowledged his mistake, but the fans probably couldn’t forget it that quickly. Cented says the repeated harassment has taken its toll and his mental health is in poor shape. 

He is said to be self-injuring, barely eating, and in constant anxiety. If that’s the case, no wonder that the 21-year-old Canadian has decided to turn his back on Fortnite completely.

Cented ends Fortnite career

Rumors of Cented’s retirement surfaced when his longtime colleague Cold tweeted that he was looking for a new teammate. Two hours later, Cented confirmed the news with his own Twitlonger, where he specified that his decision to quit had nothing to do with Fortnite itself. Instead, it’s a result of alleged community bullying:

“I’m not quitting because the game got stale, the developers not caring about their players, or because orgs see no value in Fortnite players. Honestly, it’s the ongoing and relentless harassment that leads me to the decision to quit and step away from Fortnite and “Cented”.

Racial slur led to harassment

The harassment stems from a clip that came to light in the summer of 2022 of Cented making a racist remark during a Twitch stream. After this incident, his former team FaZe Clan immediately separated from the player. The community also didn’t take well his verbal slip and it seems that couldn’t forgive the player either.

Although Cented claims to have attended sensitivity training and tried to put the incident behind him, he says the repeated harassment has deeply affected his personal life.

Player’s mental health suffers

Cented primarily blamed the three Fortnite players, namely Logan “Bucke” Eschenburg (formerly with NRG), Avivv, and Doniee. The trio allegedly tricked their followers into bullying and harassing Cented.

In the Twitlonger, Cented described how his mental health suffered from the harassment:

“Focussed and targeted harassment led me down dark paths and I started to self harm to the point that my girlfriend had to take extended leave from work to make sure I was not a danger to myself. I lost so much weight from anxiety and throwing up after my meals. Even getting on my computer would create so much anxiety for me that I wouldn’t touch my computer for days… just to avoid feeling stressed.”

What’s next for the player?

After the tweet, there was suddenly a lot of support for Cented. Many members of the community thanked the professional for his contribution to Fortnite and praised his successful career. However, there were also people who criticized him and accused him of not taking enough responsibility for his actions.

How the player will continue is not clear. While he has announced his retirement from Fortnite, it’s not entirely clear if he’ll also be retiring from the esport scene as well.

Header: Cented / Epic Games