British Rocket League player Jack ‘FlamE’ Pearton has announced his retirement from competitive play.
The 24-year-old most recently played for UK esports organisation Resolve, following stints at other teams like Team Secret, Veloce Esports, Top Blokes and more, and also played for Method in the UK tournament Gfinity Elite Series back in the day.
Overall, he played for six years, and now plans to transition into coaching moving forward.
FlamE will now coach the org-less side 100%, which includes UK players Breezi, Triton and Crispy, as they look for an org to represent.
FlamE steps down as a Rocket League player – his statement in full
FlamE said: “I still feel I can compete if I put my mind to it, I just haven’t enjoyed the game outside of scrims and RLCS for some time now.
“Since the end of last season, it’s getting harder to find opportunities I feel will be worth me essentially forcing myself to play a game I don’t enjoy, so I think it’s the right time to move forward.”
He also spoke about playing at worlds, a big goal of his, and the pressures that come with being a professional esports player.
He continued:
“If there’s one thing I’d like to mention, it’s that fans and viewers underestimate the mental effects that playing under pressure has.”
FlamE
“Even though I felt I managed that well, it was probably the main reason why I’ve decided to stop and move on to something where I can have more time for myself and focus on something new.”
On turning to coaching, FlamE said: “My plan for next season is to get into coaching. I feel like the experience I’ve gained over these six years can be a real help to any team that’s already at the top, or is looking to qualify to majors and worlds.
“I’ve been given an opportunity that I think has great potential for next season.”
You can read FlamE’s statement in full below:
Related article: ‘This isn’t it’ – community reacts to controversial plans for Rocket League trading to be removed
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.
