On Friday, Aldrin “Dunoo” Pangan, known in the Filipino “Defense of the Ancients 2” (Dota 2) community as “Kuya D,” died from COVID-19 complications.
What to know: Pangan, an esports commentator, had been battling COVID-19 since Aug. 9. He kept family, friends and fans updated through his professional Facebook page.
Pangan made his last post on Aug. 17. In the video, he is seen lying in bed with oxygen support.
Dota 2 tournament organizers, players, teams and personalities have since paid their respects to Pangan:
Today is a day of great loss – an icon in Filipino casting that everyone has heard in-game, Aldrin Paulo “Dunoo” Pangan @iamdunoo has passed away. Dunoo’s voice and call outs will always ring true to Dota fans everywhere, and his passing is a great loss for everyone.
Rest in peace Aldrin Paulo “Dunoo” Pangan, caster that known for his legendray voice chat #LakadMatatag . Thank you for your contributions especially in DOTA 2 community all over the world. pic.twitter.com/bOaxvTBxMd
Lakad matatag divided our Dota 2 experience into before and after. Chat wheel wouldn’t have been the same without this man. Rest in peace, Dunoo pic.twitter.com/9tNtZtaiMg
Such sad news to wake up to. Dunoo will be missed and remembered, not just because of the voice lines, but because of all his work and presence in the scene.
Lakad Matatag.
Truly devastated to hear about @iamdunoo passing from covid. A Filipino casting legend and also a genuinely kind, amazing friend over the years. Welcomed me to Manila every time I visited like a brother. Just sadness. Sending my love to your family.
The first trip I met Dunoo he took me to Jollibee because he said I had to try it. From when we sat down until we left at least 5 different people came up to ask for pictures and to say hi. Everyone of those people got a picture, a smile, a laugh, a story.
Extremely sad to hear the passing of Aldrin Paulo “Dunoo” Pangan. I don’t understand Tagalog but his passion for PH Dota and the PH teams was unrivaled. Filled me with hype any time I listened to his snippets. My condolences to his friends and family in this difficult time. :((
Kuya D’s influence: Pangan was a talent under Philippine e-sports company LuponWXC, according to his Facebook profile page.
He and his casting partner, Marlon “Lon” Marcelo, were the duo behind the popular line “Lakad matatag! Normalin, normalin” (“Walk steadily and deliver a normal hit”). They first used the line during a match between Team Secret and Fnatic at the ESL One Katowice in 2018, according to ABS-CBN.
Valve Corporation, the developer of Dota 2, added the voice line in-game as part of The International 2018’s (TI 8) compendium “Epic Caster Pack” reward for level 1,205. Other lines in the pack include “Easiest money of my life,” “Echo Slamma Jamma” and “The next level play.”
Valve founder Gabe Newell also used Pangan’s now iconic line during his short speech at The International 2018, an annual Dota 2 championship tournament, in Vancouver.
Two-time champion, OG, constantly spammed the line during their matches at TI 8 and TI 9.
Aldrin Paulo Dunoo Pangan carried us to 2 Aegis and kept our mental high during every game we played.
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