Stephen ‘Mortdog’ Mortimer, Gameplay Director for Teamfight Tactics (TFT), has revealed he has quit streaming after being the target of animosity from toxic players.
Mortdog is known for streaming matches and game updates on his Twitch channel, which has amassed over 300,000 followers since its creation.
During a broadcast on April 28th, 2025, after discussing TFT’s Cyber City set, Mortdog confirmed he is stepping away from streaming and social media, much to fans’ surprise.
The Gameplay Director for Riot Games‘ auto-battler title often streamed breakdowns of recent updates to his audience, providing insight behind any gameplay changes. This is something that made the TFT esports community stand out.
“The last few weeks, months, have been really tough in the spotlight as the target for a lot of the frustrations around TFT,” he said. “I don’t know how else to phrase it other than the haters win. They got to me, which sucks to admit after six years. I’m gonna take a break because I can’t take much more of it.”
TFT Coach Dan ‘Frodan’ Chou expressed frustration at the community for directing frustrations at Mortdog: “People were annoyed, saying you had to get info from his stream or posts. Now, we don’t get any of that. We get less communication, info and interaction with the devs. Massive TFT community L.”
Will Mortdog Return to Sreaming?
Mortdog revealed that his streams will be gone ‘for a while,’ suggesting that the Gameplay Director will possibly return at a later date.
Fans of TFT will hope his break from streaming won’t be for too long, thanks to the valuable insight he provides in the development process.
The TFT esports circuit continues to move forward towards the launch of Set 15. Tactician’s Cups are currently underway across each region before attention turns to the expanded Golden Spatula tournaments, which arrived in March as part of a new Tier 1 esports circuit.
Outside of Riot Games’ own esports circuit, TFT is one of several titles appearing at the Esports World Cup. Sixteen players will compete for a share of $500,000 (~£374,839) in prize money.
