The thumb injury forces the video player to withdraw

A 25-year-old professional video player was forced to retire due to a thumb injury.

Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto announced that “take a step back from the competitiveness of Call of Duty” on Twitter.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write, I give up and I will no longer compete in the competitive Call of Duty for the foreseeable future,” he said in a separate blog post.

“It breaks my heart to move away from a game in which I put my heart and soul every day for eight years,” he added. “Tears just writing this, but I don’t know what to do right now.”

Paparatto plays for a sports team called the New York Subliners and has won $ 387,019 in 87 tournaments, according to Esports Earnings. His biggest prize in a single tournament came in April 2018, when he won $ 53,125 in a Call of Duty: Cold War II competition.

The US player struggled with the weakness of his thumb and wrist a few years ago while playing a game called FaZe Clan. As a result, he had to have surgery.

“Going through this health recovery process was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do both physically and mentally, which has led to a lot of stress and anxiety,” he said. “Unfortunately, the injury came back, which made it very difficult for me to compete at the highest level against some of the best players in the world.”

He said that playing through hand pain “is simply no longer possible” and that he does not like to compete when he cannot be “ZooMaa that everyone knows and loves”.

Fans and fellow players shared their support following his announcement.

Many professional players train or compete for over 10 hours a day, and some of them raise over a million dollars a year in the process. However, physical and mental stress on the body can sometimes lead to health problems.

Sam Matthews, founder and CEO of Fnatic, told CNBC in December: “These people are largely fit and healthy, but the rules are always a flaw.”