VALORANT Community Mourns the Loss of Pro Player Twisten
The VALORANT community was devastated on June 7 when Team Vitality announced the sudden passing of 19-year-old pro player Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener. Despite the heavy hearts, the community is coming together to honor Twisten’s memory and hopes that Riot Games will take notice.
Many ideas circulating within the community focus on the iconic Shorty sidearm, and it’s for a good reason. Twisten had promised to donate 25 euros to charity for every kill made with the Shorty during the VCT LOCK//IN tournament in February. This resulted in pro players stepping up their game with the Shorty, resulting in a total of 58 kills, with DRX’s BuZz leading the pack with seven kills.
It was during the VCT LOCK//IN tournament that Twisten spoke about his struggles with mental health, sharing his battle with depression and self-harm. The community is now actively working towards honoring him and his efforts.
Two members of the EMEA VCT broadcast team, Lothar and RyanCentral, took to Twitter to share their heartfelt ideas on how to honor Twisten’s memory. Lothar proposed a Shorty skin featuring Twisten’s recognizable cat ears, with profits going to charity and mental health institutions. Riot has previously used skins and bundles in VALORANT to raise money for charitable causes, such as the Give Back bundles.
Analyst RyanCentral suggested a community-wide continuation of Twisten’s Shorty-kills-for-charity campaign, extending it to international events. He is actively working on setting up this initiative.
In addition to these honorable gestures, Riot Games is expected to pay tribute to Twisten at the upcoming Masters Tokyo and Champions 2023 international events.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. A list of international crisis resources can be found here.
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