Ninja, Ludwig & more raise over $200k for Smash pro Chillin after stroke

The esports and gaming community has stepped up to come to the aid of Super Smash Bros pro player Kashan ‘ChillinDude’ Khan, after it was revealed by a family member that the pro had suffered a stroke due to complications from a knee infection. 

Members of the Super Smash Bros community and beyond have come together to support pro player Kashan ‘ChillinDude’ Khan, after it was confirmed by his brother that the player had suffered a medium severity stroke due to complications from a knee infection.

According to a GoFundMe posted by Chillin’s brother, family attempted to reach out to the pro after having not heard from him for a few days. His family were able to contact friends local to Chillin, who went to his house to check up on his wellbeing on June 3. When they arrived at his house, however, they found him incapacitated and unresponsive.

After paramedics arrived at the scene, it was revealed that Chillin had suffered a “medium-sized” stroke caused by a blockage in his heart from a knee infection that had spread throughout his body. Although his brother confirmed that the player is well on his way to recovering his speech and movement from the stroke, his brother explained that the incident had done lasting damage to his heart, leaving him with no choice but to undergo open-heart surgery to repair the damage.

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His brother explained that the surgery was not entirely covered by Chillin’s insurance, and that he had set up the GoFundMe in the hopes of being able to fund the remaining portion of the surgery and rehabilitation needed for a full recovery.

Ninja, Ludwig, and Team Liquid help smash initial donation goals

The community was quick to respond to the GoFundMe post. Initially tweeted on June 11, the post quickly gained traction in the esports and gaming community, with numerous famous faces in the Smash scene pledging their support for Chillin’s recovery.

Within the first day of the tweet being posted, the fundraising efforts racked up over $100,000 in donations from members of the gaming community, and was picked up and reshared by notable figures in the Smash community including fellow Team Liquid Smash player Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma.

Multiple players also set up community fundraising events in an attempt to help cover the costs of Chillin’s medical procedures, with Smash veteran Joseph ‘Mang0’ Marquez pledging to set up a fundraiser on his return from the Battle of BC Smash tournament in Vancouver.

The fundraiser also saw support from those outside the Smash community, with streaming giants Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins and Ludwig Ahgren donating $25,000 and $10,000 respectively.

The GoFundMe broke $100,000 within the first day of being posted, and currently sits at around $230,000 total funds raised at the time of writing.

You can donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.