by Jeremy Waxman on Dec 03, 2015
Team Liquid recently suspended their top laner, Diego "Quas" Ruiz, but did not provide much in the way of details regarding the situation. Today, the former League of Legends pro himself has released his own statement on the matter, and revealed that he had asked Liquid to hold off on a detailed explanation, as he wanted to address the fans himself.
While the exact details of what occurred will not be disclosed, Quas shared that they stemmed from needing to deal with personal issues surrounding depression and anti-social tendencies that he has dealt with his entire life. He stated that he has used video games as a way of avoiding his problems for too long, and recently looked to correct that. In his own words:
"The last couple of weeks have been pivotal for my self-development. I started taking responsibility over my depression and frustrations about my personal development thus far in my life. You could call it growing up, whatever it is, it has given me more control of what I want to do moving forward. Unfortunately, this process has not been easy and I’ve done it in nonconstructive, aggressive and inappropriate ways that led to behaviors that resulted in my suspension from Team Liquid.
I realize now the impact all of this has had on my teammates, management and other Team Liquid staff is not becoming of any professional athlete.
...
Having just turned 24 I've thought out my options; I’ve decided to retire from professional gaming and in turn pursue other passions in my life; to also get myself out of the comfort zone I’ve become accustomed to. As far as my future – I’m still figuring out the details but for now I'm looking to pursue a medical career."
It certainly sounds as though Ruiz has a lot of personal issues to sort through, and it's understandable that he will not be able to continue his playing career while doing so. It's disappointing to see such a talented player retire while still able to perform, but we wish him his luck in whatever comes next.