The 25-year-old Chilean Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios was considered one of the best players of Super Smash Bros. until a year ago and had a successfully running Twitch channel. After allegations that he sent sexual messages to minors, his career collapsed in July 2020. Now, a former partner reports that the 25-year-old attempted to take his own life. This has caused shock among the fans.
This is known about the alleged suicide attempt: We only know the report from his former partner ZeRo. She writes on Twitter:
On March 23, Gonzalo attempted suicide. After being treated in the hospital, he was admitted for further treatment.
People are more than their mistakes, especially when they have brought so much good into the world.
I will always love you, even if we are not together. I pray that you see the light.
This was ZeRo’s gaming career: The Chilean began his career as a player in the Nintendo series Super Smash Bros. in 2011. He was considered the best player in the series on the Wii U because he won 56 tournaments in a row. This even earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. His winning streak occurred in 2014 and 2015. He was particularly known for his play with Diddy Kong and Fox.
He earned a prize money of $182,000 during his career, which is a significant amount for a player in the niche of “Super Smash Bros.” (via esportsearnings).
In addition to his career as a professional gamer, ZeRo was active on Twitch: Here he had an account with 521,900 followers. His YouTube channel was nearing the mark of one million subscribers.
After grooming allegations, Twitch ban and dismissal followed
This was the break: Barrios’ career ended in July 2020 after he was accused of sending sexually suggestive messages to two minors six years prior, in 2014. He initially denied the allegations but later admitted to them.
As a result, he was dismissed from his team “Tempo Storm”. He withdrew from esports and stopped uploading videos on his YouTube channel. Previously, he had created content about Super Smash Bros. that achieved millions of views. Twitch permanently banned his account.
These are the reactions: Many fans express their dismay over the news. One user on Twitter says: ZeRo was a role model for them, who made a stupid mistake years ago when he was not doing well. Some are upset about how harshly the community treated ZeRo a year ago.
Other users, however, say: ZeRo acted incorrectly back then. They wished he had sought therapy to receive a second chance. The current situation is tragic but does not change the player’s previous actions.
In July 2020, we at MeinMMO addressed the allegations against ZeRo. At that time, the head of Tempo Storm, Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk, explained how difficult it was for him to deal with the situation.
Reynad referred to the wave of allegations of sexual harassment that emerged on Twitter as a “dangerous precedent”. While many things come to light this way, teenagers on Twitter become judges, juries, and executioners.
Reynad emphasized that it was important to support ZeRo with therapy offers. Rehabilitation is more important than punishment.
If you are struggling with dark thoughts, you can contact the emergency hotline at 0800/111 0 111 or 0800/11 0 22 for confidential support – this is free nationwide.
