Lizhi ‘Starry’ Ye, a Lynn Vision player who has become a CS:GO overnight sensation, has indicated that he will most likely have to put his career on hiatus for the next two years.
On October 13th, the 16-year-old rose to prominence after a remarkable 1vs5 clutch on the first map of his team’s BLAST Premier Fall Showdown series versus G2 Esports. Lynn Vision went on to win that map, Vertigo, 16-14, but was unable to complete the series as G2 came back to win the single-elimination tournament.
Taking a map from the world’s No.5-ranked team was still a big win for Lynn Vision, who stepped in at the last minute. They took the place of ViCi Gaming, who pulled out of the tournament to compete in IEM Fall, the final Asian qualifier for the PGL Major Stockholm.
Starry turned to social media shortly after the match to thank his fans for their support. He also revealed that, due to China’s new anti-addiction policies, he may have to put his gaming ambitions on hold until he is 18.
On August 30, China’s video game regulator decided that on Fridays, weekends, and holidays, online gamers under the age of 18 can only play for one hour. The move has been widely regarded as a setback for Chinese esports, with many believing that it will significantly reduce the talent pool available in several titles in the country.
Starry said that his 1v5 clutch against G2 was “the perfect ending”. Here’s what he wrote on Bilibili; “I had never had so much praise as today. I am really happy that we managed to beat G2 on one map and that I was able to show what I can do. Due to some speechless ban, today’s match was probably my last one in two years. There’s nothing I can do about it.”