It was scary because I knew I had to go home for a round of testing, and the way I was playing, I couldn't sustain both. They ended up dropping me before my testing concluded.
As he began testing on his wrist, he received an offer overseas and was faced with a decision: keep playing the game he loved, or take a risk and choose his health.
The MRI showed a problem in my wrist. I tried injections first, but I was still in just as much pain. Falcons wanted me to play while I was trialing with them, but I ultimately chose surgery.
While starting his hiatus, Iconic took time to spend with friends before eventually having a successful surgery.
Surgery was in August, so I took the summer to decompress. I went to Chicago, chilled with my friend Henry, and went on a fishing trip. On surgery day, the doctor told me it was lying between two bones, on my nerve. Before I could really process that, they put in the "happy juice," and I was like, "Okay, whatever you say, doc." It went perfectly, and then it was on to recovery.
One thing Iconic learned through his recovery was how much damage his body had absorbed over the course of his career. While intense, consistent physical recovery is standard for traditional athletes, it is often overlooked in esports. In a way, this hiatus was a blessing for Iconic, as he began to train and rebuild his body, not only restoring it but bringing it to a better form than ever before. He had found himself at the bottom of the mountain but while his body may have been broken his spirit was not.
I was immobilized for six weeks with my hand in a cast, just lying still. It was tough, but you have to rest to get better. The competitor in me wanted to be back playing in a few days, but I realized it would take time.
During those months, I realized I had built bad habits from playing with the injury for so long. Even sitting at my setup had become painful. I went through intensive physio for my hand, and later went back to work on my back issues and realign myself.
When you're gaming a lot, your forearm overcompensates if your back muscles aren't working as hard, and that was happening to me. So I reintroduced workouts like rock climbing, swimming, and lifting to rebuild strength and grip. It was an extremely fun process in the end.
Iconic even directly acknowledged the physical difficulties that come with esports.
Not many people understand how physically demanding tier-one play is, especially with travel, whether from home or team houses. And you're older than you were in 2023, and you've had surgery. I think that's something professional players from any scene overlook.
With much on his mind and deep into his recovery, Iconic became almost lost. It had been more than a year since he had played a competitive Siege match, and it felt as if something was missing. Was it his competitive drive returning, or had his chance slipped away? In this confusing time of his life, Iconic spoke about a conversation that lit a fire beneath him. Just like that, David was still there, but Iconic may I add the dark knight we once knew, was back.
In February, my uncle told me to remember who I was. That really stuck with me. I had done a lot, and my story could have been over, but I felt there was more to give and more to do. That continued to fuel me.
Eventually, Iconic worked his way back to a place where he felt physically ready to pursue competitive play again. Yet there was still one thing he had to relearn: respect for the game, in order to make a proper comeback.
At DreamHack in November (2025), where I casted, I talked backstage with a NAL producer about giving back to the T2 scene in NA. That's part of why I chose the underground route: to share my take on a different level of talent and help those players. In person, they asked me a lot of questions about navigating a career, and feeding that back in helps build the next generation. That's extremely important to me.
The most shocking part was that even with offers to go straight back into the NAL, he chose to return to his roots and grind through T2.
Then I felt ready to return to the comp scene, but not fully. I could have taken offers to go straight back into Pro League, but I wanted to respect the process, so I started on Sesh.
Now, his tenure on Team Sesh was very short-lived, as his ties to the 2024 SSG roster, now under the Dark Zero banner, allowed him to pursue another opportunity: playing with the academy team.
I was on Sesh when rumors started going around about DZ Academy. I messaged Callout, and he said, "If you want a spot, you have it." It was never really about winning, but about feeding into the academy guys. They gave us great access to their system and let us sit in on practices, where I soaked in the information and plays. Later we scrimmed with the academy team, and the whole day was about getting back into the flow of things.
While Iconic had a good run with the academy team, he was always aiming for one thing, and he got what he wanted: a shot back in the NAL. The opportunity looked new, and, following his mindset of joining T2 teams, he joined Outlast to help lead a new generation. When I asked whether there was any pressure on his shoulders returning to the NAL after two years, he went back to his days of training.
Pressure is a privilege, and I had missed it. It's like being on the wall rock climbing: you might have doubts, but you just have to go do it. Those experiences let you flow, and they change you.
Not many players in Iconic's position would choose to take a risk and join a team that had not won a game all year up to that point, but if it wasn't clear by now, Iconic's career had been built on risks.
Not a lot of people would do it, but that was the reason I would: to give the guys a win. The league is extremely intense and the teams are highly skilled, so winning feels incredible, and giving that to them was one of my main goals. People can say what they want, but it was a great experience.
Although the Outlast experiment wasn't a total success, he helped lead them to their first two wins as an organization in the NAL and was able to compete at a high level once again. It seems, though, that Iconic's redemption story has only just begun, as when asked what his future looked like, he had great things to tease.
That's simple for me. I'm thinking about the future, not only mine but all futures, and I'm building worlds. I'm looking to explore, and I love the game of Siege. Wherever that takes me, it takes me.
I gave him the floor to speak his mind and just like before the man with many great words has one final message.
If you're out there, if you're down, if you think you're out, keep going.
