Zuna, a founding NA LCS player, has died aged 33

Chris “Zuna” Buechter, one of the first players to compete in the North America League of Legends Championship Series, died on May 20 at 33.

The news was shared by his brother, Kenneth, who created a GoFundMe to cover the funeral expenses. Kenneth revealed that Zuna died due to “a sudden unexpected medical episode.”

At the time of writing, the fundraiser has raised almost $11,000, with current and former players from the League of Legends esports scene contributing to the cause. One donation came from Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng.

Those who followed League’s esports scene in its early days should remember Zuna well. The bot laner qualified for the 2013 NA LCS Spring Split with Team FeaR, later acquired by Team Vulcun. Zuna and his teammates reached third place in the playoffs and qualified for Worlds 2013.

After an underwhelming start to 2014, Zuna joined Cloud9 as a Heroes of the Storm player. He competed in the scene until the end of 2018, representing esports organizations, including Tempo Storm and Team Naventic.

When the news of Zuna’s death spread on social media, the esports community gathered to offer their condolences to his family. His former League teammate, Xmithie, said Zuna was always “the most joyful person” he knew.