Flyquest’s Bwipo reveals mental health issues before Worlds 2024

Ivan Frigato Published September 22, 2024

Flyquest’s Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau reveals the reasons for his erratic on-stream behavior in the lead-up to Worlds 2024.

With Worlds 2024 over the horizon, League of Legends has dominated the esports news cycle. From hype over the upcoming Worlds 2024 theme to the rollercoaster of Zeng “Yagao” Qi’s surprise Worlds 2024 participation, there’s no shortage of excitement from fans. However, one notable LoL player has made the rounds for their not-so-friendly statements. Recently, Bwipo came under fire for his controversial statement about several European players.

“Everything about Europe is great, except the pro players who are absolutely boosted, don’t see it, and pretend like they’re not, and have egos. Those people, f— those people,” said Flyquest’s Bwipo on stream before the Worlds 2024 season.

While the statement certainly stirred anger among fans, others worried about deeper problems with Bwipo’s mental health. A recent stream validated those viewer concerns.

Bwipo reveals visit to mental health specialist after inflammatory comments

Nick “LS” De Cesare reportedly contacted Bwipo after his controversial statements to check on his mental health. 

“LS reached out to me because he was concerned about my well-being.  I got in contact with my mental health specialist, and basically, I got diagnosed with something,” said Bwipo on stream.

As for the diagnosis, Bwipo has not provided details to his audience yet. Bwipo also reached out to people he “felt he needed to apologize to.”  Fans supported Bwipo with his situation and praised LS for quickly checking on his friend. Many speculate that the high-stress year of esports has affected Bwipo’s behavior significantly. It also led to some discussion about how esports organizations can better support their players’ mental health needs.

“It isn’t hard to imagine that being a kid and being out on your own while grinding a game for 90% of the year isn’t going to lead to some potential mental issues (depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc),” commented one Redditor.

Other incidents, such as Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok bashing his head against the wall after a devastating loss, showcase that stress reaches the highest level of play. In the meantime, Flyquest’s fans can show their support for Bwipo and his squad before Worlds 2024 and remind themselves that players are people too.