On Saturday, Anderson 444 Santos, a former professional player from the Brazilian Dota 2 circuit, died from the Covid-19 at the age of 25. His last professional Dota 2 team was paiN Gaming, where he had a decorated career with multiple tournament victories.
The Brazilian star was best renowned for his triumphant performances for paiN Gaming in competitions like the DreamLeague Season 13 and the EPICENTER Major 2019. PaiN Gaming, though, had to lay off its entire Dota 2 roster in April last year, due to financial predicaments, as a result of the pandemic-induced lockdowns.
In its statement, paiN Gaming said:
“Today we lost Bob to COVID-19. We’re eternally grateful for your help in building another chapter of our story on Dota. You’re an incredible person and we’ll miss you immeasurably. We can’t believe you were ripped from us so prematurely. Lucky are those who had a chance to know you and who had the honor of seeing you play. Our hearts and thoughts are with your family. Rest in peace, 444.”
Earlier in January, 444 and three of his family members tested positive for the Coronavirus. But there was a shortage of ICU beds in his native city of Manaus, and also in the whole Brazilian state of Amazonas. Thus, 444 had to take care of himself and his family from his home, and most of his recovery time was wasted because of moving to and fro, in between his home and the nearest hospitals.
His untimely death has saddened the global eSports scene, and also the Dota 2 communities from around the world. Many of his contemporary players, teams and organizations have come forward to send their blessings to him and to his mourning family.
444’s own sister clarified after the news broke out that he was suffering from cold-related problems, and showed continuous symptoms of chronic pneumonia. On top of that, at one point in his life, 75% of 444’s lungs were damaged. That too might have played its part in his demise.
The Dota 2 community of Brazil did come forward in his aid, at a time of need. On January 21, they raised approximately $1,200 to help him and his family procure the prescribed costly medicines and pay the related treatment bills. Initially, it looked as if he was out of danger, as he looked to be able to breathe quite freely with the help of the Oxygen Cylinders. All the other equipment in the hospital too showed signs of steady improvement in his condition. But his health started deteriorating fast soon after. And on Saturday, it reached a point where his breathing problems got out of hand. He was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital, but couldn’t be saved.
Rodrigo “Lelis” Santos, 444’s former teammate at paiN Gaming, stated in a social media post:
“Today sadly I woke up to heartbreaking news. Covid-19 took another soul and this time, it was from our beloved player 444. An extremely humble and charismatic person. Rest in peace Bob.”
Although 444 was forced to leave paiN Gaming and took some time out of the pro Dota 2 circuit, he was always connected to his fans and was adamant that the Brazilian Dota 2 scene will flourish one day and he will be a part of it. Even though he won’t be able to see it with his own eyes, his fans and followers will surely try to turn his dream into a reality, so that his soul can rest in peace.