Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Alex Cimo dies aged 32 following Stage 4 colon cancer

Yu-Gi-Oh! content creator Alex “Cimo” Cimo has died aged 32 following Stage 4 colon cancer.

The news was originally announced in a LinkedIn post from Cimo’s mother, who confirmed that he passed away after what she described as a “hard-fought battle” with the disease.

“Last night, my amazing son, Alex Cimo, left us after a hard-fought battle with Stage IV colon cancer,” she wrote, going on to add: “Professionally, Alex was an incredibly successful YouTube Yu-Gi-Oh content creator with over 300k subscribers all over the world. He took the card game he loved playing as a child and shared his passion and positivity with millions.”

Cimo was one of the most recognizable figures in the Yu-Gi-Oh! content creation space, building an audience of more than 300,000 subscribers on YouTube through deck profiles, competitive analysis, and long-running community series. Shortly before his death, he even gifted most of his impressive $10,000+ card collection to another YouTuber.

Cimo had also “raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and volunteered his time in hope of finding a cure,” as expressed by his mother.

His death prompted tributes from fellow creators across the community. Content creator OmniReborn described Cimo as “a pillar of the Yu-Gi-Oh! community” whose influence reached hundreds of thousands of players.

“For many of us, Alex wasn’t just another YugiTuber,” OmniReborn wrote. “He was a pillar of the Yu-Gi-Oh! community. A creator whose passion, positivity, and love for the game touched hundreds of thousands of players around the world.”

Cimo had been open about his cancer diagnosis throughout his treatment, regularly updating followers on social media about his condition and recovery efforts.

In one of his final updates on X, he reflected on being given a grim prognosis earlier in the year and vowing to fight against it.

“In mid-March, the ‘best cancer doctors in the United States’ told me that I only had days to live,” Cimo wrote. “I refused to accept my fate, so I fought, and fought, and f***ing fought harder than anything I’ve had to fight for in my entire life.”

His battle with cancer had become widely known among his fanbase, with supporters following his updates and fundraising efforts throughout his treatment.

Cimo is survived by his family, including his wife, as well as the large community he built through more than a decade of Yu-Gi-Oh! content creation.