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The medieval cold-weapon combat game Thunderstrike hosts an annual boxing tournament, but this year's event became a fundraiser to help a fan of the game battle cancer.

The 21-year-old player, Cameron Elliott, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a very terrible blood cancer, earlier this year. After months of expensive treatment, his family is now facing huge medical bills. In a video released last week, Elliott said: "It is no surprise that the American healthcare system has fallen short for me. My treatment has been long, extremely difficult, and very expensive."

His medical bills exceeded $36,000, and his family could only pay half, leaving him with $18,000 in debt. Fortunately, the community he had built in Thunderbolt was willing to raise money for him. Called "MFC" (Thunderbolt Masters Contest), it is an annual boxing competition organized by the player community, and it started in its fifth year, when it raised more than $10,000 for organizer Philip Hall's veteran father to treat his disability.

Being a very small community, MFC has also managed to raise thousands of dollars for charities such as the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

In two days, 64 fighters participated in the fight, and more than 400 viewers made 36 donations to Elliott's GoFundMe, totaling more than $2,000 - although not much, an average of $55 per person, which is impressive for a player-organized event. The game's developer Triternion also supported the event, providing in-game rewards based on ranking.

"We've proven that the passion of the Thunderbolt community is far greater than its offensiveness," said organizer Philip Hall. "In our small community, the person who's bleeping and making fun of you in the chat could be the one donating to your cancer treatment tomorrow."

Elliott, who helped run the competition, said he was inspired by the community's fundraising efforts and it reminded people that they can ask for help when they need it.

I am very proud of the work we have done to help me in my time of need and feel grateful to the hospital as a part of the Thunderbolt boxing community.”

“I am constantly amazed by the passion and generosity of the participants and organizers, and it makes me happy to know that there are still good people doing good things in the world.”