Participants will play Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III game at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California.
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A 25-year-old professional video game player has been forced to retire due to a thumb injury.
Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto announced that he is “stepping back from competitive Call of Duty” on Twitter.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write. I’m quitting and will not be competing in competitive Call of Duty in the near future,” he said in a separate blog post.
“It breaks my heart to distance myself from a game that I put my heart and soul into every day for eight years,” he added. “Just writing this, but I don’t know what else to do right now.”
Paparatto plays for an esports team called New York Subliners, and he’s made $ 387,019 from 87 tournaments, according to Esports Earnings. His biggest single-tournament prize came in April 2018 when he won $ 53,125 in a Call of Duty: Cold War II match.
The American gamer struggled with weakness in his thumb and wrist a few years ago while playing a game called FaZe Clan. As a result, he had to undergo surgery.
“That process of getting back to health was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, both physically and mentally, leading to a lot of stress and anxiety,” he said. “Unfortunately the injury has returned, making it very difficult for me to compete at the highest level against some of the best players in the world.”
He said that because of the pain in his hand, playing “just isn’t possible” and that he doesn’t enjoy playing games if he can’t be the “ZooMaa everyone knows and loves.”
Fans and fellow gamers shared their support after his announcement.
Many professional gamers train or compete for more than 10 hours a day, with some of them bringing in more than $ 1 million a year. However, the physical and mental strain on the body can sometimes lead to health problems.
Sam Matthews, founder and CEO of Fnatic, told CNBC in December, “These people are mostly fit and healthy, but there is always a deviation from the rule.”