Today's cartoon is about the health issues of pro gamers, which is often a reason to retire for them. Uzi, Frozen, and Wolf retired from the professional League of Legends esports scene. There have been esports players retiring regularly, but you never get used to the players leaving. As much as the retirement in itself, it hurts to see them retire. It hurts more when it’s not just due to lack of performance or having to join the army, but when it’s because of health issues.

Fans have known for quite a while that it wouldn’t be awkward if Uzi retires, although sad, considering his physical condition. Frozen and Wolf also struggled with depression which was a major reason behind their decisions. PawN ended his career because of obsession. Like this, many pro players retired due to health issues; most likely, there are more that are struggling even right now.

Some people said that esports is very far from injuries. It would be difficult to compare to traditional sports, where players train their physical abilities to their limits, but when thrown into the world of competition, it’s not that different as esports players have to train themselves to their limits every day, repeatedly. As it’s a lonely fight, the pressure and stress wouldn’t be that different from traditional sports.

Fortunately, there are many healthy welfare programs going on in the teams. Not just physical exercise, they care for players’ mentalities so that their minds stay healthy as well. The training program of Hanwha Life Esports or T1’s Nike program would be good examples. As I have experienced Hanwha Life Esports’ training program myself, I know that it’s a great program that players can train their physical strength, stamina, and correct their postures. Besides the physical part, most teams always have a part to take care of the players’ mentalities as well.

As they say, a sound mind in a sound body, it would be the same the other way around. Esports has been developing over the years and hopefully, in the future, managing players’ physical mental states would get better so that there won’t be any more players that retire out of their own will, and that in the long run, and that pro gamers' careers get longer.

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