Renowned esports journalist Jarek “DeKay” Lewis has decided to step away from the world of gaming for the “foreseeable future.” DeKay had been working in esports since 2016, providing stories for some of the biggest news outlets in the world, but retired from journalism in February to become a professional player agent for the ULTI Agency. After working as an agent for almost nine months, DeKay decided to call it quits and leave the world of video games.
“At the end of 2020, I lost all interest in breaking news and playing the beat reporter game,” DeKay wrote. “I wasn’t enjoying the race to publish stories, the content game was unrewarding, and the level of immaturity around the world of esports journalism only increased when the pandemic hit. Seeing the group chats of industry members actively working together to either beat me to a story or sabotage a story, pushed me to a breaking point. None of it felt worth doing anymore. The only thing I truly enjoyed was helping people, which is why agent work sounded like such a great thing to pivot to. At first, it was everything I had expected. However, I eventually found myself in the same position. I wasn’t enjoying nor looking forward to the task at hand, no matter which way I looked at it. Call it burnout or whatever you like, I just lost interest entirely. It is probably one of the hardest realizations I’ve ever come to. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. I tried to push through it, but the feeling hasn’t changed even after taking a lot of time away from it all. I’m upset that I feel this way, but at the end of the day I can’t ignore it.”
He didn’t mince his words and explained how “the esports industry was immature, how the work was unrewarding, the fans thankless and how everyone around was trying to sabotage the other’s work.” DeKay was among the most respected and well-reputed names in the professional CS:GO, alongside the likes of Richard Lewis. DeKay concluded by thanking Duncan “Thorin” Shields and Richard Lewis for their support.
DeKay did not rule out a return altogether and hinted he may even return as an investor at some point. Still, he pointed out that he doesn’t see that happening anytime soon.
(All information was provided by TalkEsport)