Team Vitality Forfeits Spot in EMEA VCT Last Chance Qualifier After Player’s Tragic Death
Team Vitality has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the upcoming EMEA VCT Last Chance Qualifier event following the untimely death of their VALORANT player, Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener. The organization has communicated this decision to Riot Games.
The team expressed that Twisten’s passing has caused immense grief among his teammates, staff, and the entire club. As a result, they could not fathom the idea of anyone else stepping in to play in his place for the remaining competitions of the season. With this decision, Vitality’s 2023 season comes to an end.
Just two weeks ago, Twisten’s sudden death shook the global VALORANT community, leaving players, personalities, and fans worldwide devastated. Moments of silence were held at the ongoing VCT Masters Tokyo and CS:GO events such as the BLAST Spring Finals, where Vitality’s Major-winning roster was actively competing.
Since his passing, the community has come together to honor Twisten’s memory. In commemoration of the charitable donations he made earlier this year, pledging to donate for every Shorty kill at the VCT LOCK//IN event, several players and members of the VALORANT community have vowed to contribute to charities supporting mental health initiatives for every Shorty kill during the final events of the 2023 season, thus continuing Twisten’s legacy.
Currently, there have been 53 Shorty kills in the VCT Masters Tokyo event, with two best-of-five matches still to come. Achieving six more kills will break the record for the most Shorty kills at an international VALORANT tournament, surpassing the record set at the VCT LOCK//IN tournament earlier this year.
The VCT EMEA Last Chance Qualifier is tentatively scheduled to begin on July 19. If Fnatic manages to win Masters Tokyo in this weekend’s grand final, the top two EMEA teams from the LCQ will advance to Champions.
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.