Paul ‘astz’ McGarrity, one of the UK’s top original Unreal Tournament (UT) pro players, has sadly passed away.
He played UT 2004 competitively and also Quake Live for the likes of Dignitas back in the day.
Paul also previously provided consultancy around gameplay and game mechanics in FPS (first person shooter) games. He was also a product manager for Play2Improve and its FPS Trainer product.
Paul is survived by his partner Kathleen and his three children.
Wouter Hinloopen from the UT2004 Community Facebook group has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of Paul McGarrity’s funeral.
Update – as of early March this has reached its €3,500 goal. Wouter said there was also an additional $1,400 raised through an Unreal Tournament hosting a competition in memory of Paul.
Wouter said: “Today we lost a legend. It pains me deeply to say this, many of you know him from his competitor days, being among the world’s top UT players in peak competition during the glory days of UT.
“Paul was not only an amazing player but also an amazing person and father. He was always a joy to have within the community.”
Wouter Hinloopen, UT2004 Community
“In 2011 he hosted a reunion event in Scotland that he did not even play in himself, as he was too busy hosting the event and making sure everything was running smoothly. This just shows the kind of person he was. He will be forever missed.”
Many other comments were made paying tribute to astz on the UT2004 Community Facebook group post.
Paul ‘astz’ previously said in this Play2Improve video: “I’ve competed all over the world against the best of the best, I’ve done something I’ve loved. I’ve got a real passion for gaming and it’s been great to have done it for such a long period.”
British esports veterans Michael ‘Odee’ O’Dell (Dignitas founder and ReKTGlobal chief gaming officer), Paul ‘Redeye’ Chaloner (retired host and caster) and Rams ‘r2k’ Singh (former pro gamer and current esports lecturer at the University of Chichester), paid tribute to astz on Twitter:
A post by zelvZ on ESReality.com read: “Most of us knew Paul as a true artisan and member of the UT2004 community. He was a true friend for this community, a kind and funny guy to spend time with and a great father for his three kids.
“I had the pleasure to meet him during a LAN tournament he organised in Dundee in 2011 (he did the full coverage of the tournament on ESR). I remember having a blast meeting UT legends for the first time such as ScrMz, Frantic, ecko and of course Paul.”
zelvZ also shared the following video of an epic last-minute comeback made by astz in an old ESL tournament, cast by British esports personality Paul ‘Redeye’ Chaloner:
“May you rest in peace UT legend, you will be missed.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
