Image by: theScore eSports
After his mystery-shrouded suspension from Team Liquid’s roster, Diego “Quas” Ruiz has opened up about his personal struggles and announced his retirement from professional League of Legends.
On November 29th, Team Liquid posted a surprising announcement on their website: their toplaner, Quas, would be suspended from their roster. The article did not go into much detail, referring only to an “incident... at the Team Liquid headquarters.” No other information was given, though there were cryptic and scary comments posted across social media regarding the announcement, including this stand-out from former teammate Alex “Xpecial” Chu:
"I can't say anything more, but trust me when I say, as a friend of Quas, this is one of the saddest moments in my life."
December 3rd would see some, but not all, of our questions answered. Quas broke his silence in a TwitLonger posted on his Twitter page. In it, he opens up about his struggles with depression and anxiety since his early childhood, saying that his coping mechanism was video games; which, to him, were always “more than a hobby.” This culminated in this statement, which cleared up some of the questions surrounding his suspensions:
“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 [sic], aggressive and inappropriate ways that led to behaviors that resulted in my suspension from Team Liquid.”
As a result of this and other factors, Quas also announced: “I’ve decided to retire from professional gaming...”
We may never know what exactly transpired at Team Liquid Headquarters. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Despite his relatively short two-year professional career, Quas leaves an indelible footprint on the NA LCS scene. Hailing from Venezuela, a country where he struggled with high ping but still managed to reach challenger. He got his break in May 2013, playing for team New World Eclipse, but he truly gained a reputation when he was signed by Team Curse in October 2013. His wide champion pool and impeccable mechanics made him popular, despite his shy, reserved demeanor. While playing for Team Liquid (the rebranded Team Curse) during the Spring and Summer of 2015, he helped the team break their “forever fourth” curse (so to speak), as they took 3rd place both splits.
For more on Quas and his story, you can watch this video:
