Super Smash Bros Melee pro HAX$ is confirmed dead at age 30 after a mental health struggle that came partially as a result of him being banned from most Melee events.
He attempted to take his own life in August of 2024 by jumping in front of a moving train, resulting in his right leg needing to be amputated. Though he survived the endeavor, he had ongoing health complications that came as a result of those injuries.
It is yet unclear what Abdulaziz ‘Hax$’ Al-Yami’s official cause of death was. But, as of March 25, 2025, it was confirmed by his family that he died.
HAX$ condition revealed in his family’s GoFundMe
There was some confusion around Al-Yami’s death, as some of his friends helped his mother put together a GoFundMe for him, thinking he wouldn’t survive the night. He, however, pulled through for a bit and was able to stay alive on life support.
The last two tweets before his death reveal some of what was on his mind before then, with a post on March 14, 2025 that reads: “I miss the Melee community so much.”
Another post from March 18, 2025 says: “I need the Melee community back by my side. I miss my friends so much and can’t go on like this. I’m sorry to all of you for what I did. All I want is to return to the community I once called home.”
His death has sparked a great deal of controversy in the Melee community, with many sending hate toward the TOs and community members who maintained his permanent ban and blaming them for this outcome.
Hax$ did, however, reveal what was going through his mind at the time of his attempt back in August.
“It happened because I live with the pain of being separated from my community of the past 20 years. However, let me be clear in saying that this event was incredibly unwarranted and is not the fault of any TO or the community at large. This was clearly a very rash decision, fueled by factors such as social isolation and depression,” he explained on December 13, 2024.
“I want to assure everyone that I assume full culpability, and that my life has been moving in an incredibly positive direction since. After the incident, I started to make a concerted effort to improve my current situation. I have been working with several mental health professionals, attending counseling, and overall making my psychiatric health a top priority in addition to rehabilitating myself physically.”
He also still had the support of other members of the Melee community, with Smash pro HungryBox revealing he caught a flight to go see Hax$ as soon as word of his condition spread, only to land and hear news that he died during that flight.
Smash Bros pro Mew2King also made a video and post calling for his community’s support to the creator and his family. The same is true of other community legends like Jmook, Armada, and Cody Schwab.
M2K also claims to have gotten in contact with his mother to ask about his cause of death:
“I asked cause of death… it was a ‘broken heart, he cried a lot toward the end, and most people didn’t understand how much he loved being a gamer, it was his passion in life.’”
Why was Hax$ banned from Smash Bros tournaments?
Hax$ ban is a huge part of this story. So, why did he actually get barred from entering Melee tournaments?
The pro player released a number of YouTube videos that called out a prominent member of the Melee community, Leffen, which led to turmoil within the Smash scene. Hax$ deleted the videos himself, but the damage it caused, combined with his conduct in the aftermath, resulted in a permanent ban. You can read the full ruling here that was published on January 28, 2024 for more context.
The closing statement of the ruling reads as follows:
“Hax’s lack of sufficient remorse for his actions, incitement of harassment campaigns targeting other people, and his pattern of doubling down when confronted, even by tournament organizers who have tried working with him for years, makes his presence fundamentally toxic to the scene’s health. Although Hax has shown no reason for tournament organizers to believe his presence at events constitutes an active threat to other players, this is not the only reason to permanently ban players,” the ruling explains.
“No one has a right to play a video game at a tournament – it’s a privilege. The signatories of this document have together determined that Hax’s actions have abused this privilege. He’s shown that he cannot be trusted to respect the rules of the Melee community and conduct himself in an appropriate manner.”
The document was signed by almost every tournament organizer for the biggest Melee events in the United States, leaving him unable to participate in the vast majority of events for the game.
This statement was meant to reinforce his indefinite ban that came in June 2021 after the release of his controversial videos, though many contested his ban up until the day he died, claiming that he had shown he learned from his ban and should be welcomed back into the community.
Hax$ had been competing since 2008 as a dedicated Fox main, with him winning almost $40k in prize money before his ban.
Fox is known for being a character who’s only as good as the person playing him, a top-tier that requires such a high level of mechanical skill that the biggest dynasties in Melee history are often defined by his character specialists. In the eyes of many, Hax$ was one of the best.
