Whether you are a ‘Godson’ or ‘Flopson’ fan, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen’s retirement from Dota 2 Esports marks the end of an era.
The two-time TI Champion announced his retirement just a week after the International 2024 (TI13) concluded. Needless to say, this came as a surprise for fans, considering Tundra Esports’ performance at TI13 was phenomenal.
Topson retires from Dota 2 Esports (Image credit: Tundra Esports)
Topson leaves Tundra Esports and Esports Overall?
With this retirement announcement, Tundra also bids farewell to their mid-player, who won them third-place at TI13.
Looking back at their TI13 performance, many fans rooted for them to win TI13 and for Topson to be the only three-time TI Champion in Dota 2 history. They outwitted the best teams of this season, notably Xtreme Gaming and Team Falcons.
Unfortunately, their underdog run was ended at the hands of Gaimin Gladiators‘ superior performance. Nevertheless, considering Tundra’s line-up was made up of mostly non-TI Champions, this was easily a big win for Tundra players.
Topson’s retirement
Frankly, Topson’s retirement felt surreal at first, considering this wasn’t the only time he has went inactive from competitive Dota 2.
For instance, he was inactive throughout the 2022 season, albeit still being part of Team OG. Then, he returned for an attempt at TI11 Qualifier alongside fellow OG teammate, Anathan “ana” Pham. However, they failed to qualify for that, competing under the Team T1 name.
Then, he went into inactivity again in the early 2023 season, only to eventually return to pro scene playing for Tundra Esports this year. All in all, Topson’s career timeline was quite the rollercoaster, but the peaks were surely his two-time TI winning moment and the most recent third-place finish at TI13.
From standing in at TI12, to getting third place at TI13
Pogson, Godson, Dadson – Topson 🥹
After many patches, countless tournaments and some crazy picks we will have to say farewell to Topson as he retires from competitive DotaThank you for everything and all the best. đź’™ pic.twitter.com/dE6Va6zj5T
— TUNDRA (@TundraEsports) September 24, 2024
Why Did Topson retire from Dota 2 Esports?
Frankly, it’s quite the accomplishments in Topson’s book. $5.9 million in prize pool winnings make him one of the richest Esports players around. While that’s definitely a sufficient amount to retire from a Dota 2 Esports career, Topson may actually have other reasons for retiring.
Topson mostly lives in Malaysia now with his wife and children. Hence, retiring to spend time as a loving husband/father to his family is a good reason.
Alternatively, Topson might have to join the national service back in Finland. This is similar to another Finnish player, Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen, several years ago.
Anyways, for whichever reason Topson has to retire from Dota 2, let’s hope that this isn’t one of those ‘Chinese player retirements’, where they return to the pro scene merely a year or less after announcing their retirement (although we’re sure some would be happy with a quick Topson return!)
