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After an illustrious career around the Overwatch leagues, veteran tank player Gael “Poko” Gouzerch announced on Monday that he will be retiring from the competitive scene.
“After six years of playing competitive overwatch, I’ve decided to retire,” he said.
“Thank you everybody that I’ve met during this long journey, teammates, coaches, staff, fans. All of these memories will stay forever with me!”
Poko began his career in 2016 while representing xoxo, and since then he has competed for other Overwatch teams such as the Philadelphia Fusion team, Fusion University, PuLse Gaming, the European team GamersOrigin, and most recently the London Spitfire, who he joined in November of last year.
Poko has played in all five seasons of the Overwatch League, earning the moniker ‘Poko Bombs’ in the inaugural OWL season as a result of his spectacular efficiency in bomb kills.
Right from 2017, when he started playing for the Fusion, the French player has been leading his team to top-tier positions in Overwatch tournaments. Poko led Philadelphia in 2018 to a second-place finish in the inaugural OWL playoffs, and in the same year he helped France win the Overwatch World Cup Paris qualifier.
In 2019, Poko was part of the Fusion side that finished in third-fourth place in the Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs, while in 2020 they earned second place in the Overwatch League Countdown Cup. More recently, the player helped the Spitfire to fifth-sixth place at the just concluded Overwatch League playoffs.
Poko was the last remaining active player from the Philadelphia Fusion’s inaugural OWL roster; all other players are not on any team currently, hence his retirement will mark the end of an era.
The French national also stated in a tweet that he will be around the Overwatch community, although he will be serving in another capacity.
“Im still staying around, just switching to full time content creator on my twitch channel,” Poko wrote.
