Dota 2 community mourns the death of Chinese caster, Mi "Yammers" Hongwei.
The Dota 2 community has been rocked again by the tragic death of another member of the scene.
Chinese caster, Mi "Yammers" Hongwei has committed suicide due to depression. The news comes to the community via his weibo post/suicide note*, a very detailed and heartbreaking account of Yammer's early life and memories of his continued struggles in the present.
*trigger warning of suicide, depression, abuse, bullying
- [translation from Reddit HERE]
Yammers began commentating for Tier 1 tournaments in 2018. He quickly became one of the Chinese community favorites and made his TI debut in 2019. He then continued to cast for the DPC and was invited to the following 2 iterations of The International.
It was at TI 2022 that he got an in-game chat wheel line: "再见了宝贝" which translates to “See you baby”.
Yammers kept commentating until last week, with his last series being iG vs PSG.LGD in CN Division I on May 21st.
Yammers devastating death comes during Mental Health Awareness Month. Two other Dota 2 players, Héctor "K1" Rodríguez and Tommy 'Taiga' Le both have brought their own struggles with other mental health to light just recently. K1 is still on break for the rest of the Summer Tour, while Taiga has just returned to competitive play.
Suicide Prevention
Depression or mental illness does not always lead to suicide, but there are some increased risk factors that are also associated with gamers and even then it is difficult to predict who will act on suicidal thoughts. Here is a list of increased risk factors:
- A prior suicide attempt
- Depression and other mental health disorders
- Substance abuse disorder
- Family history of a mental health or substance abuse disorder
- Family history of suicide
- Family violence, including physical or sexual abuse
- Having guns or other firearms in the home
- Being in prison or jail
- Being exposed to others’ suicidal behavior, such as a family member, peer, or media figure
- Medical illness
- Being between the ages of 15 and 24 years
Risk factors are important to keep in mind; however, someone who has warning signs of suicide may be in more danger and require immediate attention.
Read more details including warning signs and resources in our feature HERE.
