Super Smash Bros Pro Player Hax$ Passes Away at 30

Super Smash Bros Melee pro Abdulaziz ‘Hax$’ Al-Yami has died aged 30, following a public struggle with his mental health.

On March 25, 2025, Al-Yami’s family confirmed his death in a post on X. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Prior to his death, a GoFundMe was set up by his mother on March 24, which revealed that he was “fighting for his life” and asked, “please consider supporting his family during this unimaginable time.”

As of March 26, the GoFundMe has raised over $45,000. His mother updated the page, writing, “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.

“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.”

Al-Yami attempted to take his own life in August 2024 by jumping in front of a train. He survived the incident but his right leg was amputated as a result of his injuries, and he suffered ongoing health complications.

Al-Yami was indefinitely banned from the majority of Smash tournaments in 2021, due to a series of videos he made criticizing fellow pro player Leffen. He later deleted the videos, but his ban was upheld in January 2024.

HAX$’s final posts on X addressed the Melee community directly. On March 14, he said, “I miss the Melee community so much.”

His final post, on March 18, said: “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.”

In December 2024, following his suicide attempt in August, Hax$ explained, “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.”

“I want to assure everyone that I assume full culpability, and that my life has been moving in an incredibly positive direction since. 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.”

Smash pro HungryBox revealed that he flew to visit Hax$ as soon as he heard of his condition, but his friend had died by the time he landed.

Mew2King, another pro player, made a video and post calling for the community to support Hax$’s family, a sentiment echoed by others including Jmook, Armada, and Cody Schwab.

M2K also explained that he contacted Hax$’s mother to ask how he had died.

“I asked cause of death… it was a ‘broken heart, he cried a lot toward the end, and most people didn’t understand how much he loved being a gamer, it was his passion in life.’”

Why was Hax$ banned from Smash Bros tournaments?

In 2021, Hax$ released a number of YouTube videos calling out Leffen, another prominent member of the Melee community, which led to turmoil within the Smash scene.

Hax$ later deleted the videos, but the content of them resulted in a permanent ban. You can read the full ruling here, published on January 28, 2024.

The closing statement reads:

“Hax’s lack of sufficient remorse for his actions, incitement of harassment campaigns targeting other people, and his pattern of doubling down when confronted, even by tournament organizers who have tried working with him for years, makes his presence fundamentally toxic to the scene’s health. Although Hax has shown no reason for tournament organizers to believe his presence at events constitutes an active threat to other players, this is not the only reason to permanently ban players.

“No one has a right to play a video game at a tournament – it’s a privilege. The signatories of this document have together determined that Hax’s actions have abused this privilege. He’s shown that he cannot be trusted to respect the rules of the Melee community and conduct himself in an appropriate manner.”

The document was signed by almost every tournament organizer for the biggest Melee events in the United States, leaving him unable to participate in the vast majority of events.

This statement reinforced his indefinite ban from June 2021, after the release of the controversial videos. However, many contested the ban, claiming he had demonstrated that he had learned from his mistake and should be welcomed back into the community.

Hax$ had been competing since 2008 as a dedicated Fox main, winning almost $40,000 in prize money before his ban.