James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks, one of the greatest esports competitors of all time and a legend in the Call of Duty space, has officially announced his retirement after more than 15 years in the game. His origins in Call of Duty stretch back to COD 4: Modern Warfare, and his career spanned 14 unique titles.
In his retirement video, Clayster explained he ‘came across from Halo’, like so many Call of Duty pro players did, and that he’d been neck-deep in the COD world since he was 16 years of age. Now, at 32 years old, he’s retiring from COD esports.
From The Beginning
Clayster’s retirement marks the end of an era. He’s the last ‘OG’ player to pull out of active competition at the top tier of Call of Duty esports, having played through the last season of the Call of Duty League in the Carolina Royal Ravens. His stretch around the block has taken him through some of the most prestigious organisations and teams in esports, including:
- OpTic
- Kaliber
- Envy
- FaZe Clan
- eUnited
- NYSL
- Dallas Empire
In a 29-minute video, Clayster poured his heart out to his community, expressing how tough it is just to keep up these days as an active competitor.
I know how much it takes to win, especially now. In Call of Duty now, it’s so hard to win. It’s incredibly difficult to not only compete but just win a match against good teams. It’s so hard in the CDL nowadays. I tried my heart out, I did want to succeed for her, in her memory. It’s just hard to play with so much on your mind.
In that line, Eubanks was referring to his younger sister who passed away in her sleep in August 2022.
Clayster has refused to relent as a competitor season after season, even when many of us knew the end was getting close. He remained a stalwart leader and a ferocious personality, always trying his utmost best to bolster that status as a three-time world champion. With 19 chips and more than $1.1 million in earnings, he’s one of the winningest players of all time.
It’s hard to talk. I’m thankful I got to see it from playing out of my mom’s house in my bedroom to then playing in huge arenas, so I’m grateful that I got to see the wave go while I was competing.
I feel really blessed to have had the career that I’ve had, the fanbase I’ve had… It has just been a dream come true. For a kid from a small town in Virginia, you know? I’m a hometown hero back there, it’s crazy.
Here’s the full video from Clayster:
For any Call of Duty esports fan, this is a huge moment. It’s not unexpected, but seeing it up there in lights is pretty tough to come to terms with. I fell in love with competitive Call of Duty way back when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was doing the rounds in 2009, and the likes of Scump, Crimsix, Karma, and Clayster stuck with me for years.
What a way to usher in the Black Ops 6 season.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out the news that Counter-Strike continues to dominate the esports betting space
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