Toronto Defiant’s DPS Stellar retires from Overwatch

Stellar departs from professional play after just one stage in Overwatch League.

April 3, 2019

The Toronto Defiant have announced the retirement of DPS player Lee “Stellar” Do-hyung from professional Overwatch. The timing could have been better for the Defiant, as his retirement comes just one day before Stage Two of the second season of Overwatch League begins.

Today we announce the retirement of Do-hyung "Stellar" Lee.

Thank you @dohyung6130 for what you brought to this team. We wish you the best of luck in the next chapter of your story.#ThankYouStellar #RiseTogether pic.twitter.com/hLJ417si2Q

— Toronto Defiant (@TorontoDefiant) April 3, 2019

In a video announcement on the team’s Twitter account, Stellar had this to say “Due to personal reasons, I have decided to retire from being a pro. So, I want to thank all the fans who supported me so far. I also want to thank my previous team, 02, Toronto Defiant, and my teammate friends. Again, thank you so much for supporting me.”

Stellar had a successful run with the Defiant in their Overwatch League debut. His contributions helped them qualify for the stage one playoffs, where they were eventually shutout 3-0 in the quarterfinals, by the second place finishers, the San Francisco Shock.

Prior to joining the Defiant, Stellar played for 02 Ardeont — a popular Overwatch Contenders League Korean team.

Stellar’s retirement isn’t the only notable departure from OWL this season — fan-favorite Atlanta Reign player Daniel “Dafran” Francesca announced his retirement from professional play last week. This string of high profile retirements is undoubtedly not the last that we’ll see this season, as many professional players have spoken to the extremely stressful environment that players must submerge themselves in to compete in OWL.