When I wrote that article summary line above, I chuckled a bit. Then, I was a little sad, because for a player who's done so much for the professional League of Legends scene, mis-Smiting monsters somehow remains the first thing people think of when bringing up the name of Brandon "Saintvicious" Dimarco. The fact is, Saintvicious has always been a talented and intelligent player, and has been a part of some of the largest Western organizations.

It's easy to forget that he started with Team SoloMid, since his time with them was quite short-lived. However, most remember the time he spent with Counter Logic Gaming, a part of the lineup that brought CLG to prominence. He then moved on to Team Curse, spending quite a bit of time with the organization before moving into a coaching role. He returned as a player when Curse needed a new Support and shot-caller, and while that experiment didn't quite work out, it did demonstrate DiMarco's willingness to help his team in whatever way he could.

He ended up moving to Curse Academy, where his veteran leadership and game knowledge was a huge factor in helping the team reach the LCS, where they re-branded as Gravity. Many experts were unsure of what to expect from this team, generally placing them no higher than middle-of-the-pack in pre-season rankings. Gravity out-performed expectations, finishing the regular season with a 10-8 record. While they lost to Team Impulse in the first round of the playoffs, the team proved what a blend of veteran experience and young fresh talent can accomplish. It was a successful season for Gravity by any metric, but now, that formula might have to change. At just about 28 years of age, Saintvicious was one of the oldest professional League of Legends players, and he's decided it's time to call it quits. While he's usually not a man who's afraid to speak his mind, for now, he's left us with only this message on his Facebook page:

"I think I've played my last competitive match ever last split and think I will be retiring for good. Will have a more detailed post later."

It's a bit sad to see him retiring as a player once and for all, but one would expect there will be other opportunities in the League of Legends/eSports field if he wants them. While he's sometimes a bit brash, there's no question he's a player that has a thorough understanding of the game and can express himself well. We wish him all the best, and will look back fondly on the times he offered us sage life advice.