The first major DOTA 2 event in the UK started off day three with a somber tone as the entire venue paid tribute to John ‘TotalBiscuit’ Bain.
The popular esports journalist, commentator and game critic was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, but despite the odds against him, he battled for almost four years until his death on Thursday, May 24th, aged 33.
TotalBiscuit had his fair share of critics across the esports and gaming world, but after learning of his passing, there was an air of sadness across social media as the news hit home to his friends, co-workers and fans.
As a former commentator for titles such as Starcraft II, TotalBiscuit had worked with ESL on a number of occasions, and in return they paid tribute to his service during ESL One Birmingham.
The $1,000,000 tournament is the first UK major Dota 2 event in history, with twelve of the best teams in the world competing in front of a large crowd at entertainment venue, Arena Birmingham.
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On the morning of Friday, May 25th, host Paul ‘Redeye’ Chaloner spoke a few kind words about his friend, before conducting a minute of silence across the entire venue.
Redeye looked visibly upset when discussing the subject and he later confirmed on Twitter that he never wanted to announce such a thing ever again.
In order to try and stop that from happening, Redeye said on Twitter that he would be donating his fee from the event to cancer research.
I'm never sure what is appropriate in these situations but I want to help.
So, I decided to donate my fee from ESL One Birmingham today to Cancer Research.
I never want to have to deliver a message like that on-air ever again.
— Redeye (@PaulChaloner) May 25, 2018
