Former Gears pro Xcells dead after shooting incident

A former Gears of War pro player, Christopher “Xcells” Hill, has died after a shooting incident in Boones Mill, Virginia on the night of Aug. 24.

According to the report from local news affiliate WXFR and the local authorities, Hill went and approached a homeowner, which resulted in “an encounter” that led to the homeowner shooting and killing Hill. Deputies arrived on the scene and identified Hill, who was 26. A spokesperson for the local sheriff’s office told WDJB7 that no charges are pending at the time and that the homeowner did not know who Hill was.

Hill went by the in-game name Xcells and played professional Gears of War up until 2017, playing for teams such as NRG, Echo Fox, and eUnited. He last played for Enigma6 Group. He also competed in professional Fortnite from 2018 to 2019. Xcells maintained a regular streaming schedule on Twitch too, streaming MultiVersus just a few days before the shooting.

A former Epic Games caster and one of Xcells’ friends xSUNDOWN confirmed the news of Xcells’ passing on Twitter.

“My soul hurts,” xSUNDOWN said. “I know you were battling so many demons from your past & trying to be a better person. I’ll cherish the times we got to talk & watching you compete. Regardless of any & everything, you didn’t deserve this Chris.”

Other members of the Gears of War esports community have shared messages to Chris as well. Gears of War officially closed its esports division this past June.

The incident is still being investigated by local authorities.