Professional 'Smash Bros.' Player Hax$ Is Dead at Just 30, but How Did He Die?

A gamer best known for being a professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player, Abdulaziz ‘Hax$’ Al-Yami has died at the age of 30. His family announced his death in a post on social media saying that he had died peacefully just days after his family set up a GoFundMe because he was "fighting for his life."

Following the news of his death, many wanted to learn more about what happened to Hax$ and how he died. Here's what we know.

Unfortunately, no cause of death was disclosed in the post announcing Hax$'s death.

“Aziz passed away peacefully this morning. I would like to personally thank all of his friends and fans who supported him and gave him so much happiness," his mother wrote in an update to the GoFundMe page. “Please say a prayer for this young man who was taken away from us too soon. Doctors said he died quietly. Thank you for your compassion.”

The GoFundMe has raised more than $45,000 toward its $65,000 goal as of this writing.

Hax$ attempted to take his own life in August of 2024 after jumping in front of a moving train. He survived the attempt, but his leg had to be amputated, and he has reportedly suffered ongoing health complications in the months since the incident. It's unclear if his death is related to those complications.

Hax$'s final posts on Twitter suggested that he really missed being part of the Melee community that had become his home for much of his life.

“I need the Melee community back by my side. I miss my friends so much and can’t go on like this. I’m sorry to all of you for what I did. All I want is to return to the community I once called home," he wrote in his final post on March 18.

He was originally banned from the professional Super Smash Bros. community back in 2021 after he posted a series of videos criticizing fellow professional player Leffen. Although he deleted the videos, his ban was reaffirmed in January of 2024. Following his suicide attempt, Hax$ took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain what had driven him to that point.

“It happened because I live with the pain of being separated from my community of the past 20 years. However, let me be clear in saying that this event was incredibly unwarranted and is not the fault of any TO or the community at large. This was clearly a very rash decision, fueled by factors such as social isolation and depression," he explained.

“I want to assure everyone that I assume full culpability, and that my life has been moving in an incredibly positive direction since," he continued. "After the incident, I started to make a concerted effort to improve my current situation. I have been working with several mental health professionals, attending counseling, and overall making my psychiatric health a top priority in addition to rehabilitating myself physically.”