Millions of followers of the gaming legend Byron "Reckful" Bernstein were shocked to learn of his sudden death.
The gaming community is coming together across many servers to hold in-game memorials for Reckful and mourn the loss of a legend. There are reports that tens and thousands of his followers turned up online to pay their respects causing the servers to crash.
Byron Bernstein aka Reckful reportedly died of suicide at the age of 31 on July 2, his friend and ex-girlfriend confirmed on Twitter.
"Yes, it's him. He's gone. I've been having a panic attack for an hour. I don't know what to do," Byron's ex-girlfriend, who goes by the name of Blue wrote in a series of post on Twitter.
"Byron, I wish I could have helped you. We all do. I'm so sorry I couldn't. Thank you for being a part of my life. Love you always."
She added, "Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I wish he could see how much he is loved and all of the sweet things people have said to honor his memory. Remember, your words/tweets affect people, even the famous people. Please be kind."
There are no details been released on the cause of death. However, reports indicate that Reckful had been battling mental illness since the age of six after the passing of his older brother who too had committed suicide.
In his last posts on Twitter, Reckful proposed to his girlfriend.
"I know I'll always be a little too crazy... and this is proof... but at least you'll never be bored. Will you marry me, Becca?" he wrote on Twitter with photos of his girlfriend.
"DO NOT make her feel pressured to say yes, i am completely insane here. I have not seen her in 6 months. The reason for the post is I know she's the one I want forever, and I wanted her to know my commitment is real."
Becca who saw the posts by Reckful on Twitter much later reacted to the proposal with a lengthy post on Twitter Titled "RIP July 2, 2020."
"That doesn't change the fact that I wasn't able to be there for him. He was amazing. He taught me how to have fun, to experience more, and challenged me to try to be more than what I was. He was larger than life, too big for this world," she wrote. "He brought me to realize that I knew NOTHING about depression, NOTHING about mental health issues. I had this vague idea of what it was and embarrassingly thought that I could help with trivial bulls--t."
She continued, "We need better support for those with mental needs. I remember Byron telling me how traumatized he was when he had the authorities called on him for being at risk of suicide. Anyone that knew him knew how much it scared and affected him. THIS CANT BE HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE PLACES THAT SHOULD BE KEEPING THEM SAFE."
Who is Reckful?
Reckful is a name that has become a legend among the gaming community. The 31-year-old 'beloved' Twitch streamer and World of Warcraft player was rated as the number one player in the world.
His fame grew and he became massively popular after he was ranked number one in six consecutive seasons of the World of Warcraft. Besides, playing World of Warcraft he was also popular among Asheron's Call to Hearthstone players.
Reckful recently has been devoting his time to work on a new game called Everland that was expected to be launched this year.
"We are saddened to hear of Byron 'Reckful' Bernstein's passing. He was a pillar of the WoW community and inspired so many players. From his 3000 rating in PvP to trailblazing the way on Twitch for other World of Warcraft players, he was a role model for so many in our community," War of Warcraft wrote on its community page.
