CSGO teams being sued for "negligence" after former pro passes away

Olivia Richman Published 17/04/2020

Team Reapers and Imperial Esports are being sued by the family of Matheus “bruttJ” Queiroz, a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro who passed away in December 2019 at 19 years old.

Imperial Esports had announced the sad news at the end of last year, citing “health complications” in the tweet. bruttJ had taken a 10-day hiatus from professional CSGO before his untimely death. During that time he was suffering from “severe headaches, constant vomiting, and loss of vision” due to a brain infection.

All of these symptoms allegedly started when bruttJ had moved into Team Reapers’ house in August 2019. His family is suing the team for negligence, claiming the team house had poor living conditions that led to their son’s death. While it’s not clear if the living conditions truly caused him to fall ill, bruttJ’s other teammates had also reported feeling ill. A former player came forward, blaming multiple teammate’s intestinal problems on either the provided water supply or food.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t where it ended for bruttJ. He continued to feel sick when he moved to Imperial Esports in November of last year. According to his mother, bruttJ and his teammates were bothered by the house’s proximity to a local airport. This made it impossible to sleep, she said. He’d also told his mom there were constant food shortages. This was a problem the squad brought up to management.

Soon after, the players moved out of the house. Imperial Esports offered bruttJ’s family $150 for his growing medical costs. He’d been going to multiple doctors, none of whom had been able to identify the source of his ongoing health issues.

Days later, bruttJ passed away. Upon hearing this, Imperital Esports sent over another $1,000.

Family argues that CSGO teams to blame for bruttJ’s death

That wasn’t enough for the grieving family, who remain adement that the house conditions and negligence of both teams led to bruttJ’s death. In response, they’ve filed a labor claim against both organizations. The accusations include not supplying the team with proper or clean housing and not providing adequate food.

“There is a lot of evidence that reveals the lack of adequate health conditions in the gaming house,” the lawyer representing the family told a Brazilian media outlet. “Above all, there is even more robust evidence that the teams did not provide healthcare to the player and failed to act when events under their responsibility were indicated.”

The CSGO community has been torn about bruttJ’s parents’ decision to sue the teams. Many felt it was the fault of the doctors, who couldn’t seem to figure out what was wrong. But others felt that not providing a team’s players with proper health care, especially when there was no clean and safe drinking water available, should be punishable.

Imperial has denied the allegations. The organization stated that the conditions of the team house didn’t lead to the player’s death. They noted that bruttJ was in the house for 15 days. Imperial Esports stated that they had worked with the family to find a solution to his ongoing health issues, but “couldn’t get one in time.”

Team Reaper, the organization that left many players ill from unsafe drinking water, has also denied the allegations. They even stated that bruttJ had “no symptoms” while living in their team house. This contradicts with the stories many players have already come forward with.

So far, there is no date set for the case being brought to court.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile