On his 31st birthday, along with his friend Eric “Ryoya” Dong, Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao, one of the most recognizable names in North American Dota and a divisive figure in the professional scene, announced his retirement.

Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao’s professional career began a decade ago with No Tidehunter, which would later become Alliance, the Swedish stronghold organization. Despite being a major role for the NA Dota.

He was known as EE-sama by the community for his very distinctive high risk/high reward playstyle, unusual item builds, and unique in-game choices. His distinctive methods led to the creation of some of the most popular memes, with “fiftEE/fifEE” and “Scientists Baffled” being his legacy.

Due to his tendency to make rash decisions, which frequently carried over outside of the game as well, EnVy was able to divide the professional community more than once throughout the years. He became well-known for switching teams in an instant and kicking teammates seemingly at random.

He has been at the center of some of the most contentious roster changes, such as Fnatic’s 2018 infamous “pizza party,” which was meant as a celebration for qualifying for the ESL One Katowice Major, but not for all of the players as Khoo “Ohaiyo” Chong Xin was informed of his removal from the team at the said party. In 2016, when Team Secret won the Shanghai Major, Rasmus “MISERY” Filipsen and Aliwi “w33” Omar were kicked off, and more recently, after Team Team qualified for the MDL Disneyland Paris, a contentious roster change occurred.

EternaLEnVy will continue to be regarded as one of the most fun carry players to watch in both professional and open games, despite the controversy. His professional career milestones occurred while he was playing for Team Secret, with whom he won the Shanghai Major in 2016 and reached the Frankfurt Major grand finals in 2015, as well as with Cloud9, with whom he finished top 6 at The International in 2014.

In the previous season, EnVy didn’t participate in any team competitions. He participated in the second DPC tour in 2021 with Black N Yellow, and at the BTS Pro Series Seasons 7 and 8, he momentarily filled in for 4 Zoomers (now known as nouns).

EternaLEnVy tweeted:

EternaLEnVy

@EternaLEnVy1991

“Retired Competitive”

Ryoya, a friend of EnVy’s, made a similar decision on the same day that EnVy did, stating that he “no longer had the same satisfaction” from playing Dota 2.

In a tweet by Eric Dong:

Eric Dong

@RyoyaDota

“Retired dota, no longer have the same enjoyment I used to have playing. Gl to everyone and ty everyone I met along the way for the memories.”

Over the past few years, Ryoya and EternaLEnVy have shared the stage with Beastcoast, Team Team, Flying Penguins, Black N Yellow, and Sad Boys. Ryoya joined simply TOOBASED for the Dota Pro Circuit in the end of 2021, however when the team was demoted to Division 2 in the Spring Tou, four players—including him—left the roster.