French esports team Vitality have announced their Valorant player Karel ‘Twisten’ Ašenbrener has died at the age of 19.
The sad announcement has arrived their Twitterwhere the organization explained that the pro-player “passed away last night” [6 giugno, ndr]. One of the team’s assistant coaches, Harry “Gorilla” Mepham, explained that the Twisten took his own life.
Already in February, Twister had publicly revealed that he had suffered from severe depression aggravated by self-harming behavior. Condition that had led him to spend a period in a psychiatric hospital.
“We are deeply saddened by this devastating loss. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this difficult time,” reads the Vitality post. “The entire Team Vitality organization is devastated by this news and we will be cutting all communication for the remainder of the day.”
In a subsequent post, Vitality highlighted the importance of mental health and encouraged those struggling to seek support. In his latest tweet, published on the evening of June 6, Twisten wrote: “Good night.”
Who was Karel ‘Twisten’ Ašenbrener in the world of Valorant
After playing for Czech organizations eSuba and Entropiq, Twisten’s career had its breakthrough in 2022 with the BIG. He played a pivotal role as the team competed in the VCT 2022 EMEA Challengers Stages 1 and 2. Before the year was out, he was signed by Team Vitality, one of Riot’s ten VCT EMEA league partners. He made his international debut at VCT LOCK // IN.
After the 0-2 defeat against Leviatán, in the round of 16 of the competition, Twisten missed the usual post-match press conference. Later he justified his absence by explaining that the defeat had tried him and that he needed to get some air. He also revealed that he had been battling depression “for two years” and that his mental health had been in decline since late 2022.
The player was also known for his charitable initiatives.