It was announced today by TCM team manager, Michael "Swizz" Butterworth that one of TCM Gaming's long time Call of Duty representatives, Tomas "Gunshy" Jones is set to retire from competing, effective after this weekend's Gfinity Spring Masters I.
His statement, available via Twitter says the following.
"Today with great sadness we announce that Tomas "Gunshy" Jones is retiring from the TCM Gaming Call Of Duty team. I'm gald Tom has stuck around for this much and continued competing he is still one of the best player within Europe and most definitely the GOAT of EU. He's achieved much more than any other EU player on a worldwide scale and I hope that's always remembered. Tom's been my closest friend in the gaming scene since joining TCM and it's going to be hard to see him leave, I've got the utmost respect for him and wish him nothing but the best for the future. We've shared some amazing memories in the past both in and out of game that i'll always remember. Have fun doing real life things ginge."
TCM Gaming then published a story on their website featuring a full in-depth interview. The discussion directly relating to why he decided to retire can be found below, and the rest of the interview is available on TCM's website. It's an interesting piece, to be sure.
"It's been on my mind for while to hang it up, It's been something I've needed to think seriously about for a while as I'm now 23 years of age and inevitably I'd need to think about my career in the long run. Most people involved in gaming can only make it a long term career through making themselves a big brand (Youtube, streaming ect) so therefor financially they don't feel any pressure or need to think about a career elsewhere, Unfortunately that's not my Cup of tea, I love competing and thats always been my attraction to gaming but that won't help you get a sustainable income for years to come.
You can't just depend on winning cod champs to earn a career out of this there is a lot more to it. The main reasons for hanging it up are that I need to have a long term career, I'd like to be financially better off so I can move to the next stage of my life (getting a house ect). With commitments back home with my Girlfriend It's not been ideal living in America that is part of why I'm hanging it up. I'd also like to clarify that It was my own decision to step down from the team and I had the option to stay with the team if I liked to but I had made my mind up many weeks ago."
Gunshy is set to hang up the sticks after this weekend's Call of Duty Spring Masters I, with MadCat being his likely replacement on TCM Gaming if previous rumours are to be believed. We'll no doubt hear an official announcement on his replacement in the coming week.
Image courtesy of Dexerto
The best Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare teams from around the world are set to compete at the Gfinity Spring Masters I, May 8-10th. You can grab tickets to spectate the entire thing live, or read up on additional information here.
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