In World of Tanks, a well-known streamer died during a live stream in February. The cause of death is now known. The 35-year-old died of a fentanyl overdose, a dangerous opioid.
The 35-year-old Brian Vigneault, known in the World of Tanks gaming community as “PoShYbRiD”, died on February 19 during a charity stream. He was playing World of Tanks live. We reported on this at the time.
It was a “streaming marathon” that lasted for many hours. Vigneault died after 22 hours during a cigarette break. He had already done other “marathon” streams for a good cause that week.
It was drugs – 50 times stronger than heroin
Now the cause of death is known. The online edition of the local newspaper from Virginia Beach, “Southside Daily”, quotes the coroner. Vigneault died of a fentanyl overdose.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used as a painkiller. However, it is also abused as a drug.
The newspaper quotes a health expert. According to her, fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl is a trendy drug in the area and “on the rise”. According to statistics, drug use in the region has increased tenfold from 2007 to 2016.
Musician Prince reportedly also died of a fentanyl overdose in April 2016.
Marathon streams are the path to success for some Twitch streamers
Among Twitch streamers, “marathon” streaming has established itself as a method to attract as large an audience as possible. Among some streamers, it is considered essential to be live on Twitch for as much of the day as possible and to entertain viewers with a stream. Only in this way do they believe they can reach enough viewers.
Apparently, this pressure drives some streamers to stimulants and drugs. Regular viewers of Vigneault’s stream reported that he appeared to have been looking worse and deteriorating in the days before his death. Vigneault leaves behind three children.
In mid-January, we reported on a popular Destiny streamer who talked about how difficult it is to take enough breaks on Twitch:
Destiny: Popular streamer fears Twitch is consuming his life
The featured image of this post is from “The Sun.” Vigneault posted it on Facebook in September 2015.
