NRG’s Williams ‘Zayt’ Aubin has announced his retirement from professional Fortnite, just 3 months after he returned to the scene and began to compete again.
With Fortnite’s incredible growth from 2017 onwards, a whole new host of esports stars emerged as the game’s competitive scene took shape. We’ve seen incredible rises from pros like Benjyfishy, Bizzle, and Bugha, who was just 16 when he took home the Fortnite World Cup’s $3m grand prize.
Another is Zayt, who has established himself as one of the world’s best players, especially in Duos alongside Rocco ‘Saf’ Morales.
The pair took home first place back in 2019’s Katowice Royale, winning $80,000. This was followed up by a fourth-place finish in the World Cup’s Duos competition, winning them $1.5 million.
The 2019 Fortnite World Cup is only one we’ve seen, because of the ongoing global health crisis.Despite these successes, he announced his intentions to move away from competitive Fortnite on January 12, 2021. It was followed by a change of heart just a few weeks later though, saying he “missed” competing and wanted to return.
However, just a few months on from his initial retirement and return, he has confirmed he will be stepping away from the scene.
He explained that the decision has been made so he can enjoy Fortnite viewing parties and focus more on content for Riot Games’ Valorant.
For the people that missed the stream, I will go live for every tournament watching EU/NAE and teaching you guys the game/doing viewing party. When there is no tournaments I'll go live and do an unranked to radiant on Valorant
— NRG Zayt (@zayt) April 17, 2021
His org, NRG, announced the retirement on April 17, saying he will go down as one of the game’s “greats”.
“Your journey as a player was historic and we can’t wait to support you as an NRG Content Creator,” they tweeted.
Today, @zayt once again goes down as one of the Fortnite greats.
Your journey as a player was historic and we can't wait to support you as an NRG Content Creator #NRGFam 🔛🔝 pic.twitter.com/jb8Y36ly8y
— NRG (@NRGgg) April 17, 2021
Epic Games’ investment has seen competitive Fortnite become an incredibly lucrative esports scene. Although some big-name players like Ninja and NICKMERCS have moved away from the battle royale, it shows no signs of slowing down and continues to rack up seriously high viewing figures.
It will have to continue without one of its best competitors though, with Zayt opting to pursue content creation instead.
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