StarCraft II Pro TaeJa Announces Retirement

Popular StarCraft II Player Yun “TaeJa” Young Seo has announced his retirement, with the 26-year-old having departed Team Liquid with immediate effect as a result. The news was made official on Tuesday evening, with this now being the second time that the South Korean has retired from the StarCraft scene.

TaeJa was part of the Team Liquid team from 2012-2016, before retiring due to mandatory military service in his homeland. Having been one of the best players in the StarCraft II scene at the time, it came as no surprise when TaeJa returned in September 2018.

What TaeJa Has Said Upon His Retirement

Speaking on his retirement this week, TaeJa made the following statement via the Team Liquid website: “After Season 3 of GSL 2020, I had time to decide the future, and had decided to stop playing SC2 as a professional gamer. It wasn’t an easy decision, I can feel I want to play more, but the circumstances aren’t good for me. I’m getting older, and my skill on SC2 wasn’t satisfied as my expectation, so I decided this.”

“I received a lot of love from my fans during my pro gaming period, it is really sad and sorry to my fans, but there is no regret of this decision for me. It’s time to start a new chapter of my life, I’ll get this through with my experience and knowledge which I got from my pro gaming life. I appreciate so much to my fans whose gave me much love more than I deserve, hopefully we can meet in the future again.”

Why TaeJa Is Held In Such High Regard

TaeJa spent a total of 7 years with Liquid, winning 11 Premier tournaments in the process, more than all other players on their roster combined. TaeJan’s successes include the IEM Extreme Masters and DreamHack. Having called TaeJa the most successful player in the organization’s history back in 2016, Team Liquid co-CEO, Victor “Nazgul” Goossens released the following statement upon his latest retirement:

“There are few individuals who have been as impactful as TaeJa in the path for Team Liquid to grow to where it is today. We started working together when he was 17 years old. A rising talent, playing under the legendary SlayerS clan. Offering him an opportunity to play for us has turned out to be such a pivotal moment in our history. Together we traveled the world, won countless championships, and I couldn’t be more proud of what you have accomplished in your career nor more grateful for what you have meant to Liquid. Thank you for everything.”

Liquid are now down to five players on its StarCraft II roster, which currently features Clément “Clem” Desplanches, Choi “CranK” Jae-won, Diego “Kelazhur” Schwimer, Kevin “Harstem” de Koning, Grzegorz “MaNA” Komincz and Marc “uThermal” Schlappi.