Tributes paid to ex-CSGO pro MAiNLiNE, dead at 26

There has been an outpouring of tributes in the North American esports scene to Michael ‘MAiNLiNE’ Jaber, a former CS:GO player and coach who has passed away at the age of 26.

The news was revealed on Twitter by current Complexity Valorant player Joel ‘jcrueL’ Cruel, who competed alongside MAiNLiNE in CS:GO on a number of teams between 2016 and 2017, including Vault and eUnited.

MAiNLiNE’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but he had revealed in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer.

MAiNLiNE was part of the wave of CS:Source players who transitioned to CS:GO following the game’s release in August 2012.

He quickly became a regular presence in top-level North American competitions and went on to play the first three seasons of ESL Pro League with three different teams — Method, Enemy, and Selfless. He also attended ELEAGUE Season 1 and won the Americas Minor leading to the MLG Columbus Major over teams like OpTic Gaming and Splyce.

He struggled to return to the top following his departure from eUnited but continued to play an important role in the development of up-and-coming North American talent.

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As the coach of Ghost Gaming and New Identity, he worked with some of today’s best Valorant players in North America, including Michael ‘dapr’ Gulino (Sentinels), Matthew “Wardell” Yu, and Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik (both on TSM).

Heartfelt tributes to MAiNLiNE

Numerous players who competed alongside MAiNLiNE or were coached by him have since expressed their condolences on Twitter.

Other community figures, including Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik, Nick ‘nitr0’ Cannella and Rory ‘dephh’ Jackson, have also paid tribute to the player on social media.