Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty has announced his retirement from Overwatch. The Support joined Houston Outlaws' first roster in 2017 and spent the entirety of his Overwatch League career with the squad. 

Rawkus announced his retirement in a Twitlonger on Saturday afternoon, stating that he will be looking towards VALORANT in his future and that he would have more news about what his future held in the coming weeks. 

Rawkus was also a member of Team USA in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Overwatch World Cup. After Team South Korea won the first three OWWC's starting in 2016, Rawkus and Team USA was able to bring home the gold in 2019.

Rawkus is not the first Overwatch League pro to retire to pursue VALORANT. His Team USA teammate Jay "sinatraa" Won retired from OWL mid-season, leaving reigning champion San Francisco Shock to play VALORANT for Sentinels. FaZe Clan, who Rawkus began his pro OW career with in 2016, has signed former Washington Justice DPS Corey "corey" Nigra and former Dallas Fuel DPS Zachary 'ZachaREEE' Lombardo.

Rawkus has not been associated with any VALORANT team, but the language in his Twitlonger suggests he may have more for his future figured out than he is currently letting on. If FaZe Clan is looking to add more former OWL talent to its VALORANT roster, the organization's familiarity with Rawkus would certainly make him an appealing signing in the proper context.

Despite struggling for the majority of its time as an Overwatch League franchise, Houston Outlaws has remained a fan favorite with Rawkus and former DPS Jacob "JAKE" Lyon becoming the American OWL posterboys for the entirety of their OWL careers. JAKE retired after the 2019 Overwatch League season, and has since casted and appearaed as an analyst for a variety of Overwatch events, including the 2020 Overwatch League season.

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