Nearly a month after being released from Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #9 Xeppaa Erick Bach v1c Victor Truong mitch Mitch Semago neT Michael Bernet OXY Francis Hoang , Jake "jakee" Anderson has announced his retirement from competitive play citing mental health and relationships being affected by the taxing hours of the professional scene.

Initially entering the competitive scene back in 2021, jakee played for a handful of teams before briefly competing in the Collegiate scene with UST Esports UST Esports North America Unranked nate Nathanael Miles Xhowi Luis Enmanuel Corcino Garcia seyq GLYPH Conner Garcia Korsonix Korey Anderson . Following roster changes on Cloud9, jakee was picked up alongside Dylan "runi" Cade to assist in the team's journey through the 2023 Americas League.

The team advanced to playoffs, and were a single series away from qualifying to Masters: Tokyo. Unfortunately, a three-map series against NRG Esports NRG Esports North America Rank #4 FiNESSE Pujan Mehta s0m Sam Oh Verno Andrew Maust mada Adam Pampuch Ethan Ethan Arnold denied the boys in blue a ticket to Japan, relegating them to the Americas LCQ.

With one last chance at traveling to 2023 Champions, Cloud9 were only able to best Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #3 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid in the LCQ before falling to LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN Latin America South Rank #1 Demon1 Max Mazanov tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena C0M Corbin Lee nataNk Nathan Bocqueho and KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #2 keznit Angelo Mori Mazino Roberto Rivas adverso Benjamín Poblete Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro , the eventual grand finalists of the event.

Their 2023 run over, Cloud9 opted to participate in a multitude of OFF//SEASON events as they prepared for the 2024 season, securing two grand final appearances at the TEN Global Invitational and Red Bull HG #4.

As the Americas Kickoff rolled around, jakee and Cloud9 started off strong with a win over MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #3 artzin Arthur Araujo xenom Eduardo Soeiro cortezia Gabriel Cortez nzr Agustin Ibarra aspas Erick Santos , but fell to NRG in the winner's match to meet their Brazilian adversaries in the deciding match. Unfortunately, the team was unable to pull through and were eliminated in two maps.

Shortly after, jakee and fellow teammate Maxim "wippie" Shepelev were released ahead of Americas Stage 1 as Cloud9 welcomed back runi and new pickup Kaleb "moose" Jayne.

jakee took to X and Twitch to explain that his motivation to compete had dwindled after the new roster changes and that the current state of esports led him to make the decision to step back. The young talent also communicated that he wished to focus more on relationships outside the game, which required him to step back and dedicate time to loved ones outside the server.

“Playing a lot in general… it's taxing, I'll keep it real. As much as it was my dream to play video games… I would notice at the end of every week I'd be burnt out. In order to be in my best form, I would have three [caffeinated drinks] a day when I was playing pro.”

Despite hinting at a potential return to the Collegiate scene, jakee expressed that he intends to put his life outside the game before everything, prioritizing relationships and income that aren't tied to the esports scene.

jake flex image Good luck with your future, big bean. (Photo: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)