Yammyn, NRG SMITE’s mid laner, has announced he will not attend this year’s SMITE World Championship.

Stress taking a toll

The 22-year-old and two-time SMITE World Champion wrote in a TwitLonger that he has been having anxiety and panic attacks and will be prioritizing his health over the tournament.

Yammyn wrote that the attacks began a couple months ago while living at the NRG team house in Spain, away from his home in Sweden. The mid player said his childhood home burning down in November 2017 was also a big part of the stress, on top of the high pressure of competing in SMITE at a professional level.

“Every time [I] play Smite or even spectate games [I] get in that competitive mindset [I] have and [I] just feel terrible again,” Yammyn posted.

Not the end of the road

Yammyn continued that his goal is to return to play at least another season of professional SMITE, ending his TwitLonger on a high note:

“I[‘]m lucky [I] have all the titles and trophies that [I] have but [I] really want more, to be continued….”

The replies to Yammyn’s tweet form a wall of support about the decision from teammates, fellow SMITE competitors and fans who applaud Yammyn for putting his health first.

What this means for NRG

NRG had automatically qualified and been seeded for a spot in this year’s SMITE World Championship by finishing second in the European SMITE Pro League’s 2018 Fall Split. Worlds’ main event starts on Nov. 16.

As of this writing, the team has not confirmed who will sub in for Yammyn at Worlds. Earlier this year, WhoDaBest stood in for Yammyn in SMITE Pro League games and is listed as the team’s sub.