CHINESE DOTA 2 CASTER YAMMERS AT DEAD AT 26
The Dota 2 community is mourning the untimely passing of Chinese Dota 2 caster Mi "Yammers" Hongwei, who was found dead on Monday (29 May).
He was 26 years old.
Yammers death was first discovered after a scheduled post on his account on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform.
In the post, the caster talked about his life and struggles with depression, which surfaced after he became a victim of bullying from his childhood to early adulthood.
According to Yammers' post, this worsened after his father died in 2019.
Yammers' career in Dota 2
Yammers officially began working as a Dota 2 caster in 2018, becoming a mainstay in Chinese tournaments such as the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018, the China Dota 2 Supermajor, and the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Chinese regional leagues.
He was also regularly featured in the Chinese broadcasts of international events, including the Singapore Major and WePlay AniMajor in 2021 as well as the PGL Arlington Major in 2022.
Yammers has even casted the 2019, 2021, and 2022 iterations of The International (TI), Dota 2's annual world championship tournament.
His popularity also started growing outside of China when he got his own chat wheel audio line "再见了宝贝儿!", which translates to "Goodbye baby!"
Community reacts to Yammers' death
Yammers' death became known to the Dota 2 community outside of China when news of it was posted on the official Dota 2 subreddit, where many members offered their condolences and sympathies over the caster's passing.
Reddit user TinacX, who claimed to be Yammers' friend, said he "always appeared to be a lively, outgoing, polite young man" who was very passionate about Dota 2.
"He would play 50 straight Io games and win 40 of them. He achieved Divine 5 from Ancient 3 with this patch last time I checked. He had a deep passion for Dota from the bottom of his heart. But I never realized that Dota was the game that allowed him to escape from reality," said TinacX.
Streamer Nash "drunkmers" Méndez also called to immortalise Yammers in Dota 2 by permanently adding his iconic chat wheel line to the game.
"I would love for [Dota 2 developer Valve Software] to let us buy this voiceline permanently to spam in our pubs to honour and remember him, and maybe also donate that money to orgs that help people who struggle with mental health," said drunkmers.
Meanwhile, user heelydon said that Yammers' final Weibo post was a "tough read" and advised other Dota 2 players to seek help if they are also struggling with depression like the late caster did.
"A very tough read, but also a good reminder of how logical all of these depressing thoughts can come across to a person in such a situation. This is why it is important to seek help. This is not a battle you win on your own. May he rest in peace," said heelydon.
Even professional Dota 2 players have been struggling with mental health.
Last week, Beastcoast's Héctor "K1" Rodríguez decided to sit out the rest of the 2023 DPC season in order to take a mental health break.
OG's Tommy "Taiga" Le also revealed that an ongoing battle with anxiety and depression caused his recent break from pro play.
If you have thoughts of suicide or are feeling distressed, you can call SOS' 24-hour hotline at 1800 221 4444. You can also email [email protected].
For more esports news updates, visithttps://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEAand check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’sFacebook pageandTwitter, as well as ourGaming channel on YouTube.