Experienced League of Legends host, caster and personality Trevor ‘Quickshot’ Henry has posted an open statement about his health following a six-month break from work.
The South African caster had gone quiet on social media back in August but today broke his silence to speak about suffering burnout, taking time off and the importance of mental health.
He also revealed he will be returning to the Spring 2022 LEC which kicks off on January 14th, and will be involved in week 1 of the broadcast.
The news comes after LEC’s usual host Sjokz announced she won’t be attending at least week 1 of the LEC due to the sad news of her mother’s passing.
Quickshot said on Twitter he’s been on a ‘non-stop grind’ at Riot Games since joining them in 2013, with his responsibilities growing as the team did, and that he’s challenged himself to take on more work every year.
“As my role developed and changed, so did my responsibilities and expectations and after so many years, combined with an extremely difficult couple of years complicated by Covid, I began to suffer from burnout which impacted my personal and professional life,” Quickshot said.
“A break was needed, and at the end of August I sought out help from psychological professionals and enrolled in a comprehensive mental health program.
“I’m happy to share that my time in therapy has been great. I’ve learned a lot about myself, developed new skills and have a deeper understanding of what I need to do for me, for my mental health and for me to perform at work and be the husband and doggo father I want to be at home.
“This is the first time I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable on social media, and up until now I’ve consciously separated Quickshot from Trevor, always trying to portray an image of positivity and fun, but I intend to break down those barriers in the future.”
Quickshot
“I’ve learned so much about how important mental health can be, and I want to be a little more open in discussing some of my learnings, and mental health topics in the future.
“Thank you for your supportive messages, they meant more than I could explain and I’m excited to return to the show!”
Mad Lions UK head coach Mac also commented on burnout last August after reaching the LEC Summer 2021 playoffs final. It’s a topic that continues to be discussed in esports – there is almost unspoken notion that you must work hard every hour of the day, but this is just not healthy or sustainable.
There’s no doubt esports has improved over the years in terms of preventing burnout, but there is clearly more work to be done when one of League of Legends best and most experienced casters is out for half a year due to this issue, which it seems is rightfully being taken more seriously now than it has been before.
Quickshot has also been instrumental in giving up and coming caster talent a chance in the LEC: casters and hosts from the UK League of Legends scene had a big LEC call-up for the 2021 Summer Season for example.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
