Perkz announces retirement from pro play

Luka “Perkz” Perković, one of the most decorated and influential players in European League of Legends history, has officially announced his retirement from professional play.

Perkz – The Emperor of Europe will hang his mouse

The announcement came from the player himself, who posted a video on his X account one day after he revealed he would become a father. Unsurprisingly, the reason behind his stepping back from competitive is related to the new baby that will be arriving one day in six months.

“I’m very excited for that new chapter of my life, and obviously this is exactly what you guys thought it was gonna be,” said Perkz at the start of the video. “I think the reasons are very straightforward. There is just no time allocation, and all the bad things that come with stress from competing, that I [don’t] want to manage anymore.”

Perkz publicly thanked the staff, players, and fans who have worked or supported him throughout the years. “I’m grateful for the game, for the competition that has made me the person I am today. And that is going to help me evolve into a better person in the upcoming years of non-playing.”

Perkz’s Career – High peaks but also low lows

Starting his professional career in 2014, Perkz made a name for himself when he led G2 Esports to the top of EU and on the international stages, including the Mid-Season Invitational trophy in 2019. That year, G2 became the closest team in the world to achieving the golden run (winning all domestic and international titles of the season), dropping only at the last hurdle during the Worlds final to FunPlus Phoenix.

Since then, however, Perkz hasn’t been able to reach the same heights. After losing in the semifinals to DWG at Worlds 2020, Perkz left G2 to join Cloud9 in North America on a multi-year contract worth $11.75 million. The investment did not work out as intended, and Perkz returned to the EU on Team Vitality to join a team that was supposed to be a top contender in the league. Unfortunately, the results never came along, and instead worsened over time.

“The one thing that’s very rarely spoken about is that competition can be hard. While the highs are very high, the lows are very, very low. They teach you a lot, and I’m happy I got to take so much from this experience moving on in my life.”

His last competitive split in the LEC was the 2024 Winter playoffs on Team Heretics, while his last competitive game was during the NLC Winter playoffs when he played for The Ruddy Sack alongside his former G2 teammates Wunder and Jankos.

The Croatian mid laner didn’t reveal what his plans will be, although he stated he wants to come back to the scene somehow: “I will probably not be active for the next couple of months as I have a baby on the way, I need to make sure everything is ready but I do intend to come back in some sort of way or form, maybe lurking in the shadows, helping the young kids on the block…” he said.

Perkz will stream a Q&A later today (June 5) at 21:00 CET.