One of the Most Famous Gamers of Today, ‘ZooMaa’, Is Retiring Due to an Injury

Thomas Paparatto, a 25-year-old professional video game player, who played competitive Call of Duty under the name ZooMaa, has retired due to a thumb injury.

Yes, it is true, gamers can sustain an injury even though they do not compete directly with rivals, and even though there is no battleground on which they step in to get physically involved in trying to win. The injury is exactly the reason why a 25-year-old professional video game player, and a famous one, has pulled the plug on his career. Thomas Paparatto, also known as ZooMaa, a member of the New York Subliners eSports team, has announced his retirement, explaining the decision with the inability to continue competing in competitive Call of Duty “for the foreseeable future”.

With These Words, Paparatto Said Goodbye to the Fans

According to the pro gamer, a thumb injury that previously needed to be treated with surgery has returned, making it extremely difficult for him to compete at the highest level against the world’s best players as he would definitely lag behind in battles against them.

“Playing through the weakness and pain in my hand just isn’t possible anymore. I don’t enjoy competing when I can’t be the ZooMaa everyone knows and loves, and I feel like it’s not fair to myself or to my team to go through all that again, potentially causing more damage to my hand,” we quote a part of Paparatto’s statement in which he announced saying goodbye to playing eSports.

The Italian-American said it hurts his heart to leave a game in which he has put in his heart and soul every day for the past eight years. He was torn up just having to post a retirement announcement but it was all he could do at the time. “It’s been an amazing run… I don’t regret anything and I’m grateful to have had a long playing career doing what I love to do at such a high level,” he continued.

Paparatto also said that he was unsure about his future plans, but that he would consider all options because he loves the game he played too much to fully step away from it. “I look at it as one door closing and another one opening,” he stated.

Paparatto’s Career in Brief

The Subliners, one of the top teams in the Call of Duty League, issued their own note, wishing Paparatto to recover as quickly as possible. “We’re thankful for everything that ZooMaa has done for the Subliners and our entire organization wishes him a speedy recovery. His incredible talent as a teammate and competitor has always made him amazing, and the positivity he brings to the community is truly special. We’ll see you soon,” they wrote on social media.

Paparatto debuted in competitive Call of Duty in 2013. Two years later, he joined FaZe Clan, whose member he has been in the next four years and won several championships, on which you could have bet but still can on plenty of esports markets at bookies (such as on the UK betting sites at Bookmaker-Expert.com), for the eSports organization based in Los Angeles. In 2019, he joined the Subliners roster where he was now replaced by Connor ‘Diamondcon’ Johst. According to data available online, Paparatto earned $ 387,019 from tournament prizes over a total of six years of his professional gaming career.