Team Vitality has made the hard choice to drop out of the EMEA last-chance qualifier for Valorant Champions to honour their teammate Karel “Twisten” Aenbrener, who struggled with depression and took his own life.
The French organisation announced their choice on Twitter, saying that Twisten’s teammates, staff, and the whole community were in a lot of pain.
Vitality said they couldn’t see anyone else playing in the rest of the season’s events and that they want to end their VCT 23 season out of respect for Twisten, his family, and their players.
Remembering Twisten: Team Vitality’s Decision to End VCT 23 Season
Riot Games understood that there were special circumstances and gave Vitality permission to skip the qualifier. They also sent their condolences to the team again.
Some important information about our participation in the VCT last chance qualifier and the VCT Champions ⬇ pic.twitter.com/q4pWPNJvpC
— Team Vitality 🐝 (@TeamVitality) June 21, 2023
Twisten’s untimely demise had a deep impact on the Valorant community, and players from all over the esports world came to pay their respects. The hosts of VCT Masters Tokyo, Yinsu ‘Yinsu’ Collins and Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez, paid respect to Twisten on the first day of the event’s broadcast
. A minute of silence was also held before Vitality’s CS:GO team played Heroic in the BLAST Premier Spring Final. This showed how important Twisten was to the gaming community.
To ensure Twisten’s memory lives on, prominent figures in the community have promised to give money to mental health causes for each Shorty kill at the VCT Masters Tokyo and Valorant Champions tournaments.
This project continues a practise that Twisten himself began at VCT LOCK//IN earlier this year. The community wants to bring more attention to mental health problems and help people who need it, turning their grief into a good force for change.
Vitality won’t be there, but the VCT EMEA Last-Chance Qualifier will go on as planned. Six teams will compete for a spot at Valorant Champions 2023. But if Fnatic wins the VCT Masters Tokyo, the top two teams will qualify for the final event of the season.
The Valorant community is united and determined to honour Twisten’s memory and show how strong people can be when things don’t go their way.
Twisten’s death is a sad reminder of how important it is for the esports business to have mental health support. If anything in this story has affected you or someone you know, please call the Suicide Prevention Helpline (1-800-273-8255 in the US) or the Samaritans (116-123 in the UK) for help.
It is important for the gaming community as a whole to put mental health first and create a safe, supportive atmosphere for everyone.
