Alex Ich retires from pro play

Veteran League of Legends pro Aleksei “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin has retired from competitive play.

The legendary CIS mid laner had been silent about his competitive status for some time. He hadn’t competed since leaving Team EnVyUs in 2017.

Alex took to Twitter to give an update on his life and career.

“I don’t really want to write Donezo Manifesto so will be short. I have retired, have got Green Card around 5 months ago and I’ve been working in Santa Monica as software developer since then. Thanks everyone for support and fun times,” Alex Ich said.

Alex Ich played competitively from seasons two through six. During this period he played for CIS, European, and North American teams.

Alex Ich is best known for helping to establish Moscow 5. The team went on to find great success under his leadership, including an Intel Extreme Masters Season 7 victory over Azubu Blaze. But he left the organization in 2014 and spent the next two years hopping the globe without much success.

Alex Ich became a streamer for Pittsburgh Knights after the disbandment of Team EnVyUs. This may well have been the first sign that the former pro player wouldn’t be returning to the competitive stage.

Fans were saddened to hear the news, but still offered their support and appreciation for Alex Ich’s time as a competitor. His wife Yekaterina Ichetovkina commented on a Reddit thread that the former pro player appreciated all the words of encouragement.

“Alex was reading this post the whole evening, and he smiled with warmth seeing all these kind words you all wrote here,” Ichetovkina said.