maleK passes away aged 35
French streamer Malek "maleK" Bennouioua has passed away at the age of 35, according to announcements from several community figures on X. maleK started playing CS:Source in 2011 and was a well-known figure in the French CS:GO sub-top for many years.
HLTV28 Sep 2026 · 1 min read
He notably played for beGenius and later Epsilon , who also featured Audric "JACKZ" Jug .
Several French community figures, including Dan "apEX" Madesclaire , Richard "shox" Papillon , Ryan "Neityu" Aubry , Sebastien "KRL" Perez and Steeve "Ozstrik3r" Flavigni , have taken to social media to pay tribute to maleK .
"I have no words, I can't believe it," shox wrote. "I had known him for 20 years, from memories of PxL to a restaurant we went to together just a year ago.
He was a dad… "I beg you, don't stay alone when things aren't okay. I wish I had known so I could have helped him. Tears are running down my face this morning, I can't imagine what his family is going through...
