Do you think some of the SC 2 pros are considering retirement?

Introduction to discussion:

If at some point you were among the best players in the world, it's naturally going to be very frustrating if you're no longer able to make it far in any tournaments.

We've seen some players like HayprO and Jinro retiring recently, partly due to them no longer being able to play at the very highest level, and also both stating that their motivation was no longer what it needed to be.

As the general level has increased dramatically, it's become harder to achieve really good results, even with an all-in dedication.

So with this in mind we wonder: Will a big SC2 star shock us all in the near future by retiring?

The following players are just some of the names that would provide really big news if they were to quit, even though we don't think any of them necessarily are or should be considering retiring.

Huk?

As we all know he initially performed extremely well and continued to for a long time, but for a while now has not achieved that impressive results.
Sure, he barely qualified for the WCS world finals in Shanghai and has just qualified for the IPL5, but is that enough for someone like him?

Will he quit anytime soon?
Probably not, but it will certainly depend on his results over the next 6 months or so, whether he can continue believing he still has what it takes.

iNcontroL?

It's pretty safe to say that of pretty much all the players out there, iNcontroL is probably the one that will have the easiest time finding a job in the community, if he stops playing professionally.

He himself has expressed that he still believes he has what it takes, to do well in a big tournament and that he still considers himself a player before anything else.

But at the same time it's been a really long time since he has shown world-class play and since he is such a charismatic character, we doubt it will be that long before he makes the official switch from player to caster/host/manager whatever.

NaNiWa?

In 2011 he won MLG in Dallas and finished second in Providence as well as beating both Mvp and Nestea in the MLG global Invitational at a time when they were considered the two best players in the world.
In early 2012 he managed to get RO 8 in season 2 and 3 of the GSL code S, but has since then lost a lot of games, some of which were to pretty unknown players.

While we don't think NaNiWa is going to quit at all, as he seems like a guy who believes too much in himself, we still feel he has a very pretty tough road ahead of him.
Especially if he stays in Korea where the competition is just now getting absolutely insane.

Therefore we feel that he probably ought to return from Korea to try and regain his confidence a bit.
Or else lack of results in Korea might eventually be what causes him to break down and retire.

Nestea?

Still considered to be the greatest human on earth by many, he has had a really tough time lately losing clearly in both the GSL and the OSL. While he probably has the game-understanding to theoretically become one of the best players in the world again, it's seems unlikely that he will be able to find the same kind of motivation as some of the young and upcoming players.

Therefore we see it as being realistic that Nestea retires at some point relatively soon unless he suddenly achieves something impressive again.
But if you've created the universe, then anything less than a GSL title must be a disappointment.

Conclusion

The players we mentioned aren't necessarily the ones that are most likely to retire any day soon.

They are just some of the more famous players that aren't producing fantastic results at the moment.

There are of course a long list of players that might be considering retirement, as the life of a pro SC2 gamer in many ways must be damn exhausting.

For most players the pay isn't exactly great, and while you do get to play SC 2 all day, it's only natural that you also need to achieve good results, in order to feel satisfied and happy.

An important thing to add though is that the feeling of self-realisation for most players will also be affected by how much the SC2 scene eventually ends up growing.

If every country in the world ends up having a SC2 scene that really flourishes economically and competitively then perhaps you don't need to be the best in the world to feel like you are achieving something.

Top 5 in Luxembourg might just be enough...