In mid-February, we were contacted by the World of Tanks International (WoTi) Facebook community regarding an intriguing video that was originally posted on our Facebook Page. The video shows a handicapped WoT player explaining how he plays the game with only the use of his left hand, which immediately caught our attention.

This player was Marcio Simão da Silva, known in-game as death100016. Born on February 15, 1974, at first glance his story seems pretty average: a hard-working father of five, passionate about games and surfing.

However, his life changed completely when he was assaulted by an unknown gunman. He was hit by six shots: two to his head, one to his left hand, one to his forearm, one to his right thigh, and the last shot hit his liver.

Despite this atrocity, he managed to survive, undergoing numerous surgeries and beginning a long, two-year path to recovery.

Unfortunately, the events of that afternoon had some serious consequences. Marcio didn’t fully recover the movements of his right arm and hand, and he was left with a speech impediment. It was impossible to return to doing almost all the activities that he was accustomed to.

After his recovery, Marcio spent quite a bit of time visiting a local LAN Club/Internet Cafe with his son. At first, he was unable to participate due to the extent of his injuries. But as a spectator, watching his son gaming with friends helped Marcio reignite his passion for video games.

So, when Marcio had regained enough mobility in his left hand, he bought a computer to have at home and began the difficult process of teaching himself to play with the limited mobility he was left with after the numerous surgeries he had undergone.

Needless to say, we were excited to hear about Marcio’s story, and after seeing the video, we knew we had to meet him. So we sent our very own MA77 out to Recife to meet the Legend himself.