He also opened up about catching the COVID-19 Delta variant in a recent vlog.
Former League of Legends pro Doublelift gave an in-depth update to his fans about the future of his streaming career, what he plans to do moving forward, and why he’ll be taking an elongated break from solo queue for the time being in a recent vlog.
The 28-year-old veteran first revealed that he and his girlfriend, TSM president Leena Xu, caught the Delta variant of COVID-19. He said they’re both fully vaccinated but still caught it. He ensures that he’ll be fine in a couple of weeks after recovering, but also said that Xu was hit harder by the virus than he was, which has him concerned.
Afterward, he explained that at this point in his life, he isn’t looking to make money with streaming—even though he does. Instead, he’s streaming because “it is fulfilling and it’s fun,” and it’s something that he’s found a great passion for since he believes he can fill “this hole that exists within the League scene.”
He thinks that the scene has been missing someone who’s smart about the game, is outspoken, and is able to educate viewers on the inner workings of the pro scene. As a player with 10 years of experience in the LCS, he’s one of the most knowledgeable people to talk to, especially with numerous championships and international tournament appearances.
But Doublelift also confirmed that he’ll be taking a long break from playing League solo queue. He usually sets a goal of hitting high Challenger but at one point was stuck in Diamond, which made the game fun since he was determined to climb out of the Elo and reach his desired rank. He was happy while streaming his games for a while, but eventually, League wasn’t fun for him anymore. This also made streaming feel more like a job than a passion, which was the opposite of what he wanted.
“When I play solo queue mindlessly without any goal in mind, it just makes me feel like I’m wasting time,” Doublelift said. “I won LCS eight times. I’ve been thinking about what even makes solo queue fun for me, like I don’t even really understand—sometimes I have a lot of fun, sometimes I don’t.”
He hopes to come back to League with a fresh perspective but also thinks that “coming back and being pretty shit at the game” will reignite how much fun the game will be for him. The star player said he enjoys the process of “getting good,” but voiced his worries about lacking the motivation to push for rank one when he doesn’t really care for it since he’s already experienced the competitive atmosphere and drive of pro play.
He also opened up about how playing so much League has “drained his battery” when it comes to creating other content that he’s wanted to approach, including starting his own podcast or making more educational content on topics he’s interested in.