Fans of Rainbow Six Siege and its competitive scene may be shocked to learn that one of its promising competitors has suddenly died. Next1, a German Rainbow Six Siege pro competitor, was revealed to have passed away on May 23.

Arif "Next1" Keskin was a promising competitor on the Rainbow Six Siege scene, recently helping his former team, the Chaos Esports Club, to take first place in the Nordic Championship in 2020. Shortly after, he made his exit from the team to pursue his own career starting in January of 2021.

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The news of Next1's passing came as a shock to his followers, as the Rainbow Six Siege pro was only 24 years old. In mid-April, Next1 noted on his Twitter feed that he had caught COVID-19 and was struggling with its symptoms. A few days after his initial message that he was feeling ill, he reported that he was in the hospital being treated for the condition, and was being monitored carefully by hospital staff.

Unfortunately, that would be the final message shared by Next1's Twitter account. Although the specifics haven't been shared, Next1 battled the virus for over a month before succumbing to the disease. While COVID-19 has been considered to be the most dangerous to the ill and elderly, Next1 didn't fit either of these categories. That has added just one more reason why his tragic and untimely passing has been sending shockwaves through the community of viewers, competitors, and former teammates.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the entire world, and video games and the Esports competitive scene are no exception. Fans of League of Legends pro competitions were worried back in January when members of the Counter Logic Gaming team tested positive for COVID-19. Many competitions were also either canceled outright or shifted to remote internet matches in an effort to protect competitors and audience viewers from the disease.

While much of the world is beginning to shift away from COVID-19 lockdowns and mandatory precautions while in public, the fight isn't over yet. Thankfully, gamers and the game development community have had a positive impact on fighting the disease, with EVE Online players contributing years' worth of research time to battle the illness, and numerous developers and publishers donating money towards finding treatments and effective vaccines.

While Arif "Next1" Keskin's life and promising career as a pro gamer have been tragically cut short, his legacy as a competitor will stand for quite some time.

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