ptkovsky
The mournful news came recently from the esports community of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege — the popular online tactical FPS title, developed and released by Ubisoft in 2015.
The members of the Ubisoft title’s esports community were deeply saddened by the fact that one of the best casters in the game recently passed away in a car accident.
The fatal crash happened to involve one of the esports scene’s most recognizable figures — the Esports Awards’ best caster of 2020 — 24-year-old Michael “KiXSTAr” Stockley.
The horrible accident with Stockley driving his newly purchased 2020 BMW 330i reportedly happened on Monday in the Alameda County area located in California, United States.
The fatal collision resulted in the KiXSTAr’s BMW 3 series’ vehicle overturn and crash. Additionally, according to George Kelly’s article at California’s The Mercury News, the young driver was found and claimed dead by the highway police officers and the involved firefighters shortly after the arrival at the scene.
Notable social media posts included statement from Stockley’s family members — his mother and his stepfather, which was shared on Twitter by the 31-year-old Canadian Rainbow Six Siege commentator and KiXSTAr’s friend Parker “INTERRO” Mackay:
A statement from the family of Michael "KiXSTAr" Stockley (March 9, 1997 – October 11, 2021) pic.twitter.com/wcxeK38wQn
— Parker Mackay (@INTERRO) October 13, 2021
The INTERRO’s post says that KiXSTAr’s mother was very thankful to the R6 esports community for their previous donations, love and support. She also remembered how she streamed together with her son, and how he was always traveling and meeting a lot of fans due to the specifics of his job in esports.
KiXSTAr’s mom said that her son had a lot of plans for the future, and that together with his stepdad they were proud of his hard work and his limitless dedication to the active development of the R6 community.
Another Twitter post on the theme also came from the official Rainbow Six Esports organization. Specifically, it was announced that in memory of Michael “KiXSTAr” Stockley, the North American League stopped their playday and broadcast, and updated their schedule.
— Rainbow Six Esports (@R6esports) October 13, 2021
Moreover, many members of the esports community sent their deepest condolences, respects and sympathies to the family and close ones of the famous Rainbow Six Siege esports caster.
The incredibly talented British-American colour commentator, KiXSTAr’s casting and analytical skills were highly praised by multiple members and fans of the competitive Rainbow Six Siege’s scene all over the world.
The former professional esports player used to compete for some of the R6 organizations including Team Orbit and OrglessGG. KiXSTAr also started coaching team SleepY in June 2019.
One of Stockley’s biggest achievements as a player was placing second at the Pro League Year 1 Season 2 finals in 2016 — the small Rainbow Six tournament involving four of the best teams coming from the European and North American regions.
The R6 esports event was held in Leicester, Great Britain. During the British playoffs, KiXSTAr’s Team Orbit first managed to beat the GiFu eSports team and then lost to Yunktis R6 squad in the finals of the $62,500 prize pool tournament.
Stockley started casting Pro League events in Rainbow Six Siege in 2016 and never looked back. The prominent caster was then involved in multiple Six Invitational, Pro League, ESL, DreamHack series, North American League series, and Six Major championships starting from 2017.
KiXSTAr notably casted one of the biggest esports events on the Rainbow Six Siege’s esports landscape, such as the two $3,000,000 ESL-Ubisoft events like Six Invitational 2020 in Montreal, Canada, and Six Invitational 2021 held in Paris, France, and also the recent Six Mexico Major 2021 which was organized in August by FACEIT and Ubisoft.