Retiring/Leaving SMITE

Hey Guys,



I guess I had always hope that I would never have to make this post, and I could write a happy one instead. Alas, life takes us where it will and at some points you have to make choices about the path you are walking. Sometimes those choices are made for you and you have to do the best you can. This is one of those times. I'm gonna do a TL:DR here and at the end for you lazy fucks out there. The long and short of it is:



I am no longer casting SMITE nor will I be casting SMITE this year/for the foreseeable future.



There are a couple of reasons for this. Primarily it is because I am not being hired by Hi-Rez to join their incredibly talented and wonderful casting team, all of whom I count as great friends. To be very open and honest I have always dreamed of being able to make casting and gaming a career, and the folks at Hi-Rez and I have at various times worked to make this achievable. Previously, the difficulty of obtaining a visa whilst I was still studying, as well as myself wanting to finish my university studies had kept this from happening. However, after finishing my degree in 2017 and having a fantastic HRX 2018, it seemed the time was right. I was in informal discussions with various people at Hi-Rez about bringing me across. Issues cropped up, but I solved them as they appeared. However, my formal emails regarding my employment stopped being answered and now, two months into 2018 and no likelihood of an offer being presented in the near future and indications directed to me that none will be forthcoming, I am forced to look elsewhere for my future.



What does this mean for me? Well, obviously no casting - maybe Hi-Rez will bring me to an event to cast some of the international games (nudge nudge) but aside from that I am done with casting, at least for now. Maybe I'll stream and SGS game here or there if I get the net for it. You will still see me posting crap on twitter about SMITE and supporting my friends in their endeavors, as well as dominating your casual joust games.



Speaking of friends, I want to take this time as well to express how eternally grateful I am to Hi-Rez and the SMITE/Paladins Community for all the friends and amazing people I have made along this journey, and Hi-Rez for the incredible opportunities they gave me. You have all shaped the man I am today, and I hope you will continue to be a part of my life in the future. I want to give special thanks to a couple of people though.



Firstly Hinduman and DmBrandon. You both gave me a shot on So You Think You Can Cast and believed in me from day 1. I cannot understate as well how hard both of these guys tried to get me across the Pacific and into Atlanta to cast more regularly. As well as this, Hindu trusting in me enough to put me in HRX2017 and cast the LG v NRG set is an experience I will never forget and I will forever remember as the highlight of my casting career. I also want to thank all the casters I worked with from Hi-Rez. I love all of you so much and I can't wait for the SPL to start up and hear you guys doing what you love again.



Next I want to thank Adanas and Dan McHugh - you guys opened your house to me (in Adanas' case twice), someone who was almost a total stranger and made me feel so welcome and showed me so many cool experiences in Atlanta. I miss you both so much everyday and hope I can see you both again sometime, hopefully soon.



I want to thank Cyanide, Dan Chlebowczyk, Knightfall, Paul and Jordan for giving my first opportunities as a caster and helping me grow to where I am now. I would not be here if it wasn't for you all and that is a fact.



To the Oceanic community, who have stood by me through thick and thin and trusted me so many times, I cannot say enough about how fantastic you guys are. I know that if given the right opportunities, you guys can shine and we need look no further than Biggy and Rowe to know the truth of that. Keep grinding, keep playing, and keep queuing ranked :P



Last but not least I want to thank you guys, the small amount of fans I have and the huge number of friends. I am honestly so humbled by your words of kindness and love every time I stepped up to the microphone, even when sometimes the words I said didn't made sense and were about household appliances. It is still surreal to me that people asked me to sign things for them, or take a picture with them. These are memories I will treasure forever, and I'm tearing up right now thinking about them. I love you all.



That about does it guys, I'll try to keep you updated on what's happening in my life and things like that if any of you are interested but hopefully I will be able to make it to HRX! If not, well, that's life and I'm sure, at some point in the future, we will meet again.



Goodbye for now, and love always.



HughZ



TL:DR - I am no longer casting SMITE nor will I be casting SMITE this year/for the foreseeable future.

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