One of the most storied and celebrated players of the NALCS has decided to depart from professional play today. Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi has announced that he’ll be leaving the professional League of Legends scene.
Before we get too emotional, though, there’s a chance that this may not be a permanent retirement. Sneaky stated that he would be “taking a break” after his departure, so he’s left himself a bit of room to come back as other players have. Instead of focusing on the esports scene, Sneaky intends to lean more into his personal independent streams.
Sneaky is a long-time member of Cloud9, which is part of what makes his retirement so shocking. He’s been playing for Cloud9 since the early days of League of Legends, having joined the roster in May of 2013. Prior to joining them, he played for Dignitas, Quantic Gaming, Pulse Esports, Absolute Legends NA, and Ordinance Gaming as well, though all for relatively short stints.
Earlier this year, Cloud9 decided to bench Sneaky, which made him enter into a sort of free agency. After not being able to reach an agreement with any teams that he wanted to play with, Sneaky called it quits and announced his retirement.
Future plans! pic.twitter.com/Ll3eUaqZTW
— Zach Scuderi (@Sneaky) January 15, 2020
Sneaky has been there since the early days of League and has been a staple not just of Cloud9 but of esports in general. He’s set dozens of benchmarks and records and is likely to remain one of the most referenced players in the scene for years to come.
In 2019, Sneaky became the first player to qualify for seven consecutive Worlds tournaments. In 2017, he reached 1000 kills in the LCS, becoming the third player to do so behind Doublelift and WildTurtle. In August of 2019, he reached 2,000 assists in the LCS, becoming the third player to do so behind Xpecial and Aphromoo. With both of these combined, he became the first player to reach both 1,000 kills and 2,000 assists in the LCS.
There are reports that Sneaky may move into a coaching role with Cloud9, which hasn’t been confirmed or denied. On one hand, it seems strange that he would become the coach of the team that benched him and effectively caused his early retirement. On the other, it would make perfect sense for a player with such an incredibly long tenure and considerable experience to move into a coaching role.
Regardless of where Sneaky’s journey goes, there will be thousands of devoted fans waiting to support him, whether it’s on stream or on a tournament stage.
