For 19-year-old Brazilian Matheus “Brutt” Queiroz, 2019 seemed like a dream come true. He made it into a rising pro team on Counterstrike: Global Offensive (Steam). But even before the career as an e-sportsman in CS:GO really began, it ended tragically.
How did the boy die? We reported about it on MeinMMO in July 2022.
The young man moved into the “Team Reaper” gaming house in August 2019. He was considered a highly talented AWPer.
The team’s players complained of severe headaches, constant vomiting and loss of vision.
The team’s players suspected it could be the water or the food.
Just a few weeks later, the 19-year-old switched to another team, the “Imperial” team. The released the news in December 2019 that the player was suffering from a headache, decided to leave the team and return to his family.
He died in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro.
As the site globo.com writes, the cause of death was a non-specific infection of the central nervous system. Even after days in the clinic, no conclusive diagnosis could be made before his death.
Judge sees the fault of the team – but they deny it and appeal
What was the argument? Ultimately, the question was who was to blame for the player’s death. The boy’s mother filed civil lawsuits against the player’s teams.
In 2022, 3 years after the player’s death, a Brazilian labor court judge ruled that the Imperial team indirectly contributed to the player’s death. The team did not make enough effort to create a safe and healthy work environment. When the 19-year-old was in the gaming house, he was admitted to the hospital several times, but the doctors could not make a diagnosis.
The judge criticized the behavior of the team: The young man was taken to the hospital by “underage teammates and their friends” without a representative of the organization being there.
The athlete was neither able to sleep nor eat well in the house:
His condition could not improve that way. That should have been visible to everyone.
The judge ordered the company to pay €72,000 to the family.
His team Imperial said: The player was only a few days with the team. So it’s impossible to be at fault. He was only at Imperial for 40 days, so the company cannot be held responsible for his death and illness. It was announced that they would appeal the verdict.
3 judges unanimously reject appeal
How did that turn out? On May 26, the hearing before the court of appeal took place. All 3 appeal judges denied the request for appeal. With his move into the gaming house, Imperial was responsible for the physical and mental condition of the 19-year-old, which is a legal obligation of the company. She failed to fulfill this obligation.
The Court of Appeal upheld the 2022 verdict, the company had to pay €72,000 to the player’s parents and two brothers.
As Dotesports knows, the team could now appeal to the highest labor court in Brazil. But it is considered unlikely that Imperial will go down this route. Dotesports notes that since the 19-year-old’s death, Imperial has risen to become a world-renowned team in CS:GO and has competed in numerous international tournaments.
The family of the dead e-sportsman said in a statement: There is a sense of relief after experiencing justice.