Michael "Kyaaah" Belaya, the beloved coach of the history-making Call of Duty Mobile team NRX Jeremiah 29:11, passed away on Sunday, April 18.
He was 23 years old.
NRX Esports announced the saddening development through its Facebook page.
"It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved friend and clan master, Michael Belaya a.k.a Kyaaah today, April 18, 2021," the organization said in a statement.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this moment."
Kyaaah and his NRX Jeremiah 29:11 squad brought pride to the country when they ruled the 2020 CODM World Championship Garena Qualifiers in October last year.
Unfortunately, Activision postponed the world tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to split the $1 million prize pool to the qualified teams.
Kyaaah and NRX also won the CODM Philippines Championship and the ESL MSP Championship last year prior to conquering the Garena Qualifiers.
They finished runner-up in the ESL MSP Major and the Garena Philippines Invitational before 2020 ended.
In his last tournament, Kyaaah towed NRX to a fourth-place finish in the Garena Invitational 2021 earlier this month.
READ: Comeback king NRX vows to bounce back after CGI playoff finish
The players of NRX are JC "Jayzee" Rivera, Jerrold "Woopiiee" Regay, Benj "CRUSH" Trinidad, John Kenneth "KenDy" Pimentel, Kennedy "iDra" Mondoy and Patrick Warren "WarrenTzy" Jadear.
Tributes poured for the successful CODM player-turned-coach, who also made achievements in the Rules of Survival esports title.