JasonR Explains Why He Left OpTic Gaming in Emotional Stream
In a recent stream, former OpTic Gaming in-game leader Jason “JasonR” Ruchelski opened up about his decision to leave the team. The full explanation can be found in his monologue.
Last week, JasonR decided to part ways with OpTic in order to focus on his Twitch stream. James “hazed” Cobb will take over as the new in-game leader for OpTic, while JasonR will continue to stream CS:GO and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Streaming Priority over Competitive Drive
In his stream, JasonR compared his situation to Cloud9’s Mike “shroud” Grzesiek. He explained that shroud’s competitive drive allows him to balance both his professional career and his stream, whereas JasonR’s situation is different.
JasonR expressed his concern about losing his community if he were to join a pro team and spend long periods of time away from streaming. He values his community and doesn’t want to take it for granted. Although his viewer count may not be as high as some other streamers, he believes that his community is more important to him than playing at a pro level.
He also believes that shroud could potentially earn significantly more money if he prioritized streaming over his professional career.
Concerns About the Future
JasonR theorized that financing professional players may decline, particularly in the North American Counter-Strike scene. He sees the current state of NA CS as unstable and believes that organizations are struggling to make profits from their players despite paying them salaries.
Furthermore, he expressed his fear of being replaced by younger talent. He mentioned Cloud9’s acquisition of Jake “Stewie2k” Yip, who replaced in-game leader Sean “sgares” Gares in 2016. JasonR speculated that any talented young player could suddenly rise to prominence and replace veteran players like himself.
A Difficult Decision for JasonR
Despite his decision to leave OpTic, JasonR admitted feeling bad about leaving the team in a tough position before major events like ECS Finals, ESL Cologne, and the Krakow Major. He emphasized his love for playing with OpTic and considered them the best team in North America.
With hazed taking over as the new in-game leader on short notice, OpTic may face some challenges without JasonR.
JasonR, OpTic Gaming, in-game leader, Twitch stream, CS:GO, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, competitive drive, streaming priority, North American Counter-Strike, shroud, Cloud9, finance, young talent