announced his retirement from competitive
League of Legends on Friday, September 25, in a post on X, explaining that he wants to step away to focus on his studies.
“After all these years, it’s time for me to take a step back from competitive League of Legends,” Zanzarah wrote.
The Russian jungler also made it clear that this isn't necessarily the end of his involvement in esports, as he left the door open to return as a coach or caster. “This is not a full retirement from League or esports. It’s simply the beginning of a new chapter in my life… Coaching and casting are both things i could imagine exploring in the future.”
A career across Russia and Europe
Zanzarah started his career back in 2014 in the Russian League, where he spent many years. However, he won only one title in 2017 with Vega Squadron. In 2019, his desire to keep improving led him to Europe, as he felt he had reached his peak in the CIS.
He then joined Origen BCN in the LVP, and the move quickly paid off. With the Spanish team, Zanzarah secured a top-four finish in the
2019 LEC Regional Finals and had a first shot at Tier 1 during the LEC Regional Finals, playing with the main Origen team. After that, he played in the Ultraliga for two years with
AGO Rogue; there, he won several local titles and delivered strong
EMEA Masters results — winning the 2020 Summer edition — before finally getting his shot in the LEC with
Astralis, where things didn’t go well. His best Tier 1 result was a Top 5 finish with
Misfits Gaming at Summer 2022.
After two years in the LEC,
the Russian jungler spent the final years of his career between Germany and Turkey, where he won several local titles thanks to his valuable competitive experience.
The motivation to keep improving
As Zanzarah revealed on PETROV’s podcast, he never planned to become a competitive player. He started playing for fun with his friends because he was focused on school. However, when he noticed his skills, he decided to give it a shot and see how far he could go. Zanzarah also said that he spent several years playing
Dota before finally committing to League. He switched after realizing
League’s more frequent updates and patch notes kept him more interested.
His motivation to go further was never money. Zanzarah wanted to keep improving and playing because he has always been genuinely fascinated by the competitive side of the game, and he just wanted to get better. Despite earning enough during his time in the LEC to comfortably spend more, he admitted that he rarely had the time or desire to do so. In fact, he joked that his biggest recurring expense was buying games on Steam.
For a player whose motivation was always tied to competition and advancement rather than money, it is a fitting detail to end a career that was built around seeing how far he could take the game.
