Nearly a month after being released from Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #5 Xeppaa Erick Bach v1c Victor Truong Zellsis Jordan Montemurro penny Erik Penny 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 Rank #10 Xhowi Luis Enmanuel Corcino Garcia Notexxd Jaden Anderson sonofcar kumi 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 NRG North America Rank #1 keiko Georgio Sanassy brawk Brock Somerhalder mada Adam Pampuch skuba Logan Jenkins 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 #4 Reduxx Yassin Aboulalazm Jerrwin Gurjiwan Gill Victor Victor Wong stand-in johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid cortezia Gabriel Cortez JonahP Jonah Pulice in the LCQ before falling to LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN North America Rank #8 spike Rodrigo Lombardi blowz Guilherme Oliviera Neon Bruno Rodríguez Sato Eduardo Kenzo Nagahama Sato kiNgg Francisco Aravena PxS Josh Brunelli and KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #1 saadhak Matias Delipetro mwzera Leonardo Serrati silentzz Caio Morita Less Felipe de Loyola Basso Dantedeu5 Jesús Federico Larrosa , 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 #5 zekken Zachary Patrone tex Ian Botsch Mazino Roberto Rivas Verno Andrew Maust 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)