Gamer and Father-Of-Three Dies During 24-Hour Livestream For Charity

A Virginia gamer mysteriously died while taking part in a 24-hour video game marathon Sunday. Brian Vigneault, 35, had been hosting a gaming challenge to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and had spent days before the charity event live streaming for 20 hours.

Vigneault, who had gone by the username of Poshybrid, had developed a fan base in the World of Tanks community, where he frequently live streamed on Twitch, a gaming platform for Amazon.

Sunday during the 22nd hour of the marathon around 4:30 p.m. EST, Vigneault paused for a cigarette break, but never returned to the game, stream moderators said

Virginia Beach police responded to reports of an “unresponsive individual” and pronounced him dead on arrival.

Other players had assumed he had fallen asleep, but later realized Vigneault had died when a detective confirmed his death in a message to a fellow gamer on Discord, a text chat for gamers. Police have yet to determine a cause of death but are investigating.

According to Vigneault’s Twitch account, his stream raised over $10,917.20 for veterans and children’s charity organizations.

Although Vigneault is believed to be the first person to die on Twitch, he would not be the first person to die by playing video games.

There have been cases of gamers in South Korea and Taiwan who have died while playing for long periods of time. It is possible Vigneault died from sleep deprivation or heart complications, said reports.

Fans have turned Vigneault’s Twitch account into a memorial channel. Furthermore, the Facebook gaming community FAME took to social media to pay tribute to the avid gamer.

“Sad news from Virginia beach, one of the most famous NA streamers and a member of our clan Poshybrid has passed away at the age of 35, we just cannot find words to describe how sad is this moment for all of us and for sure this game will not be the same without the legend,” the post said. “Maybe the saddest lines can not really be written, and the saddest thoughts can not really be uttered, let’s all hope that he is in a better place right now and may his soul Rest in Peace, he will never be forgotten… a person who stays in our hears never dies…”

A moderator on Vigneault’s Twitch channel set up a GoFundMe page to support his family.

“Our dear friend and fellow streamer, PoshyBrid has passed away on Feb. 19. The family has chose to not release the details of his passing. We feel it is best to just remember him for who he was, and not think about what happened. If you wish to donate to help his three children you can do so, at this GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/poshybrid/“

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[H/T Daily Mail]