A gamer has reportedly lost his life after passing out at a Capcom-sponsored tournament at the New Yorker Hotel this past weekend.
According to gameinformer.com, Bryand McIntosh, who went by the name of "Krucial B," suffered a seizure during Defend the North 2019 after finishing a session of Samurai Shodown.
McIntosh, 34, was a popular figure in the Louisiana gaming community. He specialized in fighting games and was described as "a pillar" of said community by his peers, who have been left shocked by his passing and continue to eulogize on social media. Capcom, meanwhile, has extended condolences via Twitter.
The exact cause of Bryand's death is still unknown, but the city's heatwave and the inadequate measures taken to keep participants safe is being blamed. New York City went through a historic bout of heat over the weekend, with Mayor and presidential candidate Bill de Blasio canceling outdoor events as temperatures are said to have neared 100 degrees.
The heat was also the cause of blackouts, and New Yorkers were urged to use as little power as possible in order to ease the burden the power grid by power company Con Edison. But attendees reported that the organizers did not supply sufficient hydration, and did not allow water bottles from the outside.
The space was reportedly cramped and, with moving bodies and heat-generating consoles in action, the situation wasn't an ideal one. It is also understood that air conditioning was kept to a minimum due to the electricity concerns, so there were several factors which possibly contributed to the unfortunate passing.
“I will probably never attend DTN ever again,” popular fighting game player Justin Wong said on Twitter. “Scheduling, delays, heat, no drinks, not up to date setups, no coordination, staff not knowing what’s up with the tourney."
Persons were tweeting during the competition, claiming that an unnamed person had died from the heat and lack of water. At the time of writing, neither the tournament organizers nor the authorities had confirmed the cause of Bryand's death.
Other reports are to the contrary, stating that there were easily accessible water tanks while there was no hard ban on persons bringing in water bottles.
The heat and water complaints have to be treated as conjecture right now, but it's fair to say that such an event should have been postponed given the untenable conditions in the City over the past few days.