Professional players often struggle to find a balance between their careers and personal lives. Sometimes, significant others can cause major changes in their careers and issues that aren't always beneficial. Let's explore some of the most striking examples where relationships with girlfriends had a strong impact on players' professional paths.

"Emilia Hult Effect" and Esports Players Who Experienced It

"Emilia Hult Effect" is a phenomenon where an esports player's career declines after ending a relationship with Emilia Hult.

Kenny "KennyS" Schrub, one of the most renowned snipers in CS:GO, faced difficulties after breaking up with Emilia Hult in 2016. It is rumored that the breakup was due to an affair with another professional player, znajder. After this, Kenny's career declined.

Team EnVyUs, with whom he won at DreamHack Cluj-Napoca in 2015, failed three times to advance from the group stage in majors the following year. He soon moved to G2 and left in 2021. Despite KennyS's attempts to regain his form, his professional path never reached previous heights.

Andreas "znajder" Lindberg, a Swedish player, became the next victim of the "Emilia Hult Effect." During their relationship, Emilia worked as a manager and streamer for the GODSENT organization, where znajder played. In 2018, GODSENT faced financial difficulties and lost sponsorship, leading to Emilia's departure from the organization. Shortly after, their relationship with Andreas ended. After breaking up with Emilia, znajder's career declined. He left the main roster of GODSENT and couldn't achieve previous success in the professional scene.

Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz was once one of the best snipers in Counter-Strike history. His achievements with Astralis made him a legend, but in 2021 he unexpectedly left the organization, moving to Ninjas in Pyjamas. The main reason for this decision was his desire to be closer to his girlfriend, Swedish Emilia Hult. Moving to Sweden and playing for a new team started a series of problems: within six months, Nicolai broke up with Emilia, affecting his emotional state: 

I've always had stress problems and, since I started, it's always been a lot (of problems) with my stomach. I think I had a year and a half or two years where I threw up every other day because of stress. It's just the pressure, the travel days and you never relax. And then, at the end (at the time) of the NIP, I ended up alone in Sweden, with no friends, no girlfriend or anything. And then I started getting worse and worse with the stress and I didn't know what it was, it just continued

dev1ce revealed in an interview for draft5.gg

As a result, he took an extended break, and after playing for some time, he left NIP to rejoin Astralis at the end of 2022, where he has shown decent play since.

Gla1ve and Relationship Misfortunes

Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander, one of the most successful captains in CS:GO history, faced an unusual situation early in his career. In 2014, while playing for Copenhagen Wolves, he was dating a girl. 

At Gaming.dk Season 9, organizers did not allow her into the arena, leading to a conflict, match delays, a ban from participating in tournaments of that series for gla1ve, and a fine of 1800 Danish kroner (about $250). Despite gla1ve eventually winning the tournament, his behavior caused dissatisfaction within the team, and he was removed from the roster: 

Today we sadly have to say goodbye to a great player and probably one of the most interesting Counter-Strike minds in Denmark as Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander has been removed from our Counter-Strike Division with immediate effect. I have tremendous respect for Lukas as a person but the way he conducted himself in relations to the Gaming.dk Finals was simply unacceptable and far from the professionalism we expect from our players

Copenhagen Wolves CEO, Jakob Lund Kristensen, Source: Organization Website

Although this did not halt his career, the incident left an unpleasant mark.

Seized and the Missed Opportunity

At the end of 2018, Denis "seized" Kostin could have joined the American team Team EnVy, which would have been a significant step in his career after leaving NAVI in 2017. However, he turned down the offer, deciding to stay in Russia for the sake of his girlfriend, who wanted to complete her studies. Denis later admitted:

Of all the offers I declined, and even regret a little, it's the offer from Team Envy after Gambit, when I had the chance to move to America. At that time I was seeing a girl who couldn't move, and I prioritized my personal life over the game. I really regret it.

seized in an interview with Mrs.Marple

The relationship ended with a breakup, and instead of Team Envy, seized joined Vega Squadron, and later played for Cyber Legacy, Trident, Singularity, 9 Pandas, and BOGATYRI. He is currently without a team.

Boombl4 and LiQueen Situation

Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov, former captain NAVI, married a girl in January 2022. However, soon after the wedding, her controversial reputation surfaced, as she was accused online of engaging in prostitution and acting in pornography. With the onset of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country from where Boombl4's organization hails, his wife began posting photos with tanks or Russian flags on her cheeks. Soon after, NAVI, aiming to maintain its reputation, announced in May 2022 that Boombl4 had been removed:

After the conclusion of PGL Major Antwerp, the esports club NAVI removed Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov from the active CS:GO roster. The reasons for the decision are related to high reputational risks for the club and are not a result of his in-game performance.

NAVI in their statement about Boombl4's removal

This blow marked the beginning of serious problems in the player's career. After leaving the team, Boombl4 filed for divorce in early June 2022, but the breakup with his wife resulted in a series of public scandals. His ex-wife accused Kirill of drug use and began spreading compromising materials. Here's how Boombl4 commented on his divorce from LiQueen:

Friends, I just left the MFC. I can state that we are finally divorcing because there's something really off with her. I want to apologize for everything that was thrown on the internet.

I'm ashamed of all that happened. Unfortunately, I couldn't control it, yeah. I completely understand. I'll probably make a general post about everything that happened later. There's nothing more to say, it's just facepalm.

Boombl4 in his Telegram channel after the divorce

These events ultimately pushed him into a moral abyss, making a quick return to professional esports impossible.

Common Threads in These Stories

All these cases illustrate how personal relationships can be a risk factor for professional players' careers. Whether it's relocating to another country, emotional instability after a breakup, or reputation scandals, the influence of a significant other can be both positive and destructive. Players need to recognize the importance of balancing personal life and professional commitments to minimize negative consequences.