Venezuelan Dota 2 Player Robbed and Murdered Days Before TI9

A 26 year old Venezuelan Dota 2 player Álvaro Enrique Serrano Monsalve a.k.a AKITO was murdered on the 9th of August. The accused, 24 year old Gabriel Enrique Alfonzo Rodriguez has been arrested by the CICPC (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas) along with his girlfriend who is alleged to have knowledge of the crime.

According to an Instagram post by the authorities, the victim's phone and gaming computer equipment including his PC, monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers were recovered from the accused's girlfriend's home. The post also goes on to state that the cause of death was due to several knife wounds, inflicted by Gabriel possibly after an argument between him and Álvaro.

According to a reddit post by /u/Maloxkov, AKITO was an Immortal 9,000 - 10,000 player who played hard support and dedicated his time to helping many people get better at the game.

This incident is truly a tragedy and one that is amplified by the fact that a Dota 2 player's life was taken just prior to The International 2019.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim's friends and family.