This is how the news of his death was announced: Stockley’s former casting partner, Parker “Interno” Mackay, shared a statement from the family (via twitter):

Stockley had spent the last 20 months back home with family during the Corona lockdown, he said. He had been streaming from his room, eating meals with family and spending a lot of time with loved ones after being away for so long, traveling the world and meeting many people from the Rainbow Six Victories community.

He says that when he first started working as a caster in Poland and was out of the house for the first time, he barely had any money: The community pooled together so that his mother would have enough money for a ticket to visit him.

Over the course of his career, he said, the family saw how much the community and fans of Rainbow Six Siege supported their son and respected him. This has made them very proud.

Stockley died unexpectedly on Monday, October 11, he said. He still had such big plans for the future, he said, and there was still so much he was looking forward to.

A “caster” is a commentator in e-sports. He describes live what is happening in the game, creates the atmosphere with emotional statements, accompanies the match with analyses, background information and classifies the game for the viewer.

Died doing the thing he loved second best in the world

What did he die of? After the statement, Stockely’s former casting partner came forward with the information of what Stockley died of. After consultation with the family, he announces:

“Michael died while doing what he loved second most in the world: driving. He was alone and no one else was hurt or involved.”

These are reactions to death: E-sports teams like TSM FTX call Stockley a “pillar of the R6 community,” saying he lost a voice to the game that was without equal. The captain of Fnatic says Stockley was truly a treasure and would have put a smile on the face of everyone around him.

A game designer for Rainbow Six Siege calls Stockley one of the game’s brightest minds. Without him, Siege will never be the same.

Rainbow Six Esports’ official Twitter account calls Stockley a “Bright Light” in the community. Out of respect for him, they are postponing the start of the North American League. Details of when the league will begin will be announced later.

Actually, Stockley should have cast the event.