Ninja And Ludwig Help Raise $230,000 For Smash Bros Pro Who Suffered Stroke
The Super Smash Bros. and wider esports community have rallied together in support of Melee professional player Kashan "ChillinDude" Khan, after it was revealed that he'd suffered a stroke and would need open-heart surgery.
The sad news came to light from Khan's brother, Burhan, asked the community for help to fund the surgery. ChillinDude, who has been an avid member of the Smash Bros. professional scene for 15 years, was reportedly found unresponsive by his friends after being contacted by Burhan who had been trying to get in touch with him for days.
Now, a GoFundMe page has been organised to help cover the expensive surgery, and a wealth of streamers including Tyler "Ninja" Blevins and Ludwig "Ludwig" Ahgren have donated thousands.
Ninja and Ludwig Help Raise $230,000 For ChillinDude's Surgery
Khan's GoFundMe details that "his knee had an infection that spread to his heart, the resulting blockage causing a medium-sized stroke", and that the goal to fund his surgery is set at $400,000.
So far, 5,500 donors have pooled together to donate $230,000 - including a whopping $25,000 individual sum from Ninja, and a further $10,000 from Ludwig. Both streamers have strong ties to the Smash Bros. community, having hosted events in Melee and Ultimate.
Click to enlargeFurther donations came in from Twitch personality Brandon "Atrioc" Ewing, who posted up $5,829, Team Liquid and their Founder Victor Goossens, whose two separate pledges contributed $8,000. ChillinDude is a member of Team Liquid, and has been under their banner since 2015.
Smash Bros. Pros Plan More ChillinDude Fundraisers
Ahead of the upcoming Super Smash Bros> Melee major, Battle of BC 4, a range of fundraisers are already in the works to push the sum towards the $400,000 benchmark.
Joseph "Mang0" Marquez has stated that he will help continue the fundraising following the event. Meanwhile, William "Leffen" Hjelte - ChillinDude's infamous rival who sparked that Smash Bros "Respect Your Elders" diss track - has also vowed not to use Khan's signature White Fox in the upcoming event and showed his support for a "great dude and friend".
Smash Bros royalty Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma has also said that he intends to liaise with the Battle of BC organisers to allow donations to come through via the stream. A wealth of support has now been promised for ChillinDude, who we hope has a full and speedy recovery.
