Posted in: eSports, Games, Video Games | Tagged: Brandon Larned, NRG, overwatch, Seagull

Pro 'Overwatch' Player Steps Back From Competition

Published Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:45:17 -0500

NRG Esports just lost one of their finest MVPs and one of the most popular players in Overwatch this week. Brandon "Seagull" Larned has decided to leave the team to pursue more streaming of, you guess it, Overwatch. One of the finest Genji players you'll ever see in the game, Larned had been streaming full time while also competing on the eSports circuit, basically working two jobs at once. Time finally caught up with the player, and he chose to focus more on his home job than traveling the globe.

"For the past year, it's become obvious that I struggle with maintaining a balance between professional play and streaming," said Larned on Twitter regarding the announcement. "When I originally blew up on twitch, I decided that I was still dedicated to being a pro player. This hasn't changed. However, in the current Overwatch pro scene, we're in limbo while we wait for the Overwatch League to start up later in the year. I've been struggling to justify giving up streaming hours to play in the competitive scene during this downtime. As any competitive FPS player knows, it's tough maintaining motivation for small online tournaments – particularly when I knew I was letting down my fanbase by not having a regular stream."

The man is a damn fine player, and while he isn't gone for good, it does feel like the game just lost someone they would consider a hall of fame contender. Check him out on Twitch when you can!