Former DotA pro player Champi dead at 26 years old

A veteran of the Defense of the Ancients competitive scene has died.

According to an announcement made on Facebook by TNC Events, part of the TNC Esports company that operates Dota 2 team TNC Predator, DotA 1 support player Mark Anthony “Champi” Gappi has died. He was 26 years old.

“Champi was a Dota 1 legend. He was a former TNC Cup champion, and was highly regarded as one of the best support players of his time. We will always remember fond memories of his matches with his former teams,” TNC said in its announcement.

News of his death began circulating on March 15, with esports fans taking to social media to express their condolences. No cause of death was given.

Dota 2 pros such as Carlo “kuku” Palad paid homage to him following the news, as did some of his former constituents.

“To the person who accepted me as his team captain in Wrath of Olympus, supported me for whatever picks I’ve decided to test, argued with me when something went wrong, stood up for me, May you rest in peace my brother. I wouldn’t have been a champ without you,” former teammate Jet Alfred “B-rnek” Belo said.

Gappi previously played for Wrath of Olympus, a DotA team that continued competing in the WarCraft 3 mod of the game well after Valve’s Dota 2 became publicly available. He was recognized on a number of occasions by local outlets for his skills as a support player. His most notable victory during his pro career was becoming a TNC Cup champion, one of the bigger achievements of the SEA DotA scene.

Per Liquipedia, his only notable appearance in Dota 2 came in 2014. During the year, he competed for Southeast Asian staple Mineski in online tournament GEST The Challenge #5. The team was eliminated in the first round of the event by Vici Gaming, losing 2-0 in a single-elimination playoff.