Survivor: Ken Hoang raising funds for brother’s surgery

Prominent esports Super Smash Bros. and Survivor Gabon player Ken Hoang’s brother, Mike, is recovering from gallbladder surgery.

Though we’re fans of Survivor here at Surviving Tribal, not many of us have had the opportunity to meet some of our favorite players. Last year was an exception for me, as I was in Los Angeles roughly a year ago to the date for gaming’s biggest conference; the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). There, I got the chance to meet Survivor Gabon’s Ken Hoang, talk a little bit and get a picture with him.

He was busy learning new fighting game tech for an upcoming title (at the time), yet he was gracious to take the time out to say hello. It is why I feel compelled to share the unfortunate news of his brother, Mike, who recently underwent emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder. Ken is raising money on GoFundMe to help pay his hospital bills.

Both Ken Hoang and Mike play or played Super Smash Bros. on a competitive level, including with Ken in two-player team competitions. It’s a party-based video game where characters from Nintendo franchises come together in order to fight each other in 3D, multi-platform arenas, taking out each other by knocking them out of the arena.

If you’re not familiar with Ken Hoang, he was a fairly prominent character in Survivor Gabon, producing a memorable story arc during his time in that season. He hasn’t returned since, but he has stayed in touch with at least a few members of the Survivor community, including attending Coach Wade’s wedding. He’s also said he’s willing to return to the show.

Next: Survivor: Ranking 35 seasons

The GoFundMe page for Mike’s hospital bills can be found here. As of this post’s release, more than $3,000 of the $25,000 goal has been achieved, including a generous $1,000 donation from Ken Hoang’s esports organization, Team Liquid.