Team Vitality Valorant professional player Twisten dies aged 19-years-old

Ode to the fallen.

Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener was a professional Valorant player who most recently played for Team Vitality in VCT EMEA. The 19-year-old was announced on June 7th to have passed away by Team Vitality. On June 6th, Karel posted one final tweet with the simple caption ‘Good night.’

The initially cryptic message was made abundantly clear this morning when it was announced that Karel had passed. While the full circumstances surrounding his passing remains unknown, well wishes and outcries of support from the entire Valorant community (both his colleagues and fans alike) have continued to pour in.

Internal Struggles

Shortly after Team Vitality’s announcement of his passing, close friend and assistant coach for Team Vitality, Harry “Gorilla” Mepham released his own tweet, revealing that Karel had taken his own life. In February 2023, Karel revealed that he had been battling depression and self-harm. He had even considered attempting to take his own life back in December 2022 but was saved by his father.

Karel stated that he was (at the time of writing in February), ‘doing great mentally and physically.’ He thanked the support of his team, teammates, and the Vitality staff who were there for him after all his struggles and expressed his sincerest gratitude to his family most important, who he named to have helped him through his bad times.

Blossoming Talent

After beginning his Valorant career in teams like eSuba and Entropiq, he was picked up by BIG and played under their banner for nearly a year. He was a crucial part of their lineup and delivered massively during their VCT 2022 EMEA Challengers runs in Stages 1 and 2. At the end of 2022, he was announced to have signed with Team Vitality ahead of the VCT EMEA season.

He made his first international debut in 2023 VCT LOCK//IN, where Team Vitality placed 9th-16th. After suffering a loss to Leviatán, Vitality exited the tournament. Entering into the regular season play of VCT EMEA, however, Vitality showed incredible promise. They finished Superweek undefeated, took down names like Team Liquid and demonstrated the potential of their roster.

Despite faltering, Vitality managed to place 5th-6th place in the regular season, qualifying for Playoffs. Despite falling there to FUT Esports, Vitality still qualified for the EMEA LCQ set to begin on the 15th of July till the 23rd.

“Twisten” was highly regarded by his peers as a top talent in the VCT EMEA circuit and a tough, passionate, and energetic opponent. Many of his former competitors and teammates have reached out to send one final message to him.

A Kind and Passionate Soul

"As long as I am in Vitality, I can promise you I will be fighting for the name on my jersey, for the badge and for all the people that supported me through my life."

Heading into LOCK//IN, Karel made headlines with his pledge to donate €25 per kill with the Shorty pistol at the event. He made good on the promise by donating €1450 (approx. $1554 USD) to a non-profit animal welfare association, Hunderettung Europa for the 58 Shorty kills made during LOCK//IN.

"I’m happy to see that we got amazing Golden Hornets army behind us and supporting us. I can promise you, this year will be our fucking year. Since the beginning I joined the Vitality I have been fighting for the badge, for my team, for Vitality staff and for myself as well because I want to prove world what we are capable of as a team and what I’m capable of as a person and player on the server."

“Twisten” finished VCT EMEA just outside the top 10 in terms of ACS. Whilst his overall accomplishments did not reflect it, the eye test showed a very promising and talented player who many of his competitors deeply respected.

If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, information and support are available from the Suicide Prevention Helpline 1-800-273-8255 (USA) or the Samaritans 116-123 (UK).

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Credit: VCT EMEA // Valorant Esports