Rest in peace, Twisten.
Team Vitality has confirmed the passing of one of its players, Karel "Twisten" Ašenbrener in a tweet earlier today. According to Vitality, Twisten "passed away last night" and in a follow-up tweet, Vitality also touched on the importance of mental health in esports and life.
And according to Vitality's assistant coach Harry "Gorilla" Mepham that Twisten had committed suicide. This comes just a few months after Twisten revealed in a TwitLonger that he had been battling with depression for some time now back in February 2023.
Twisten started his professional VALORANT career with teams like eSuba and Entropiq before making a name for himself with teams like BIG before a subsequent move to Team Vitality. The young Czechian prodigy was part of the squad that finished in fifth/sixth place and will compete in the last-chance qualifiers for a spot at the Tokyo Masters later this month.
He was also part of the Vitality squad that underperformed at the VCT LOCK//IN, which saw them bow out of the tournament after a 2-0 loss to Leviatán. This was also around the time that Twisten would come out with his TwitLonger statement, citing depression as one of the factors in his underperforming.
- Read: Mental health in esports
Mental health in esports has been a huge topic for some time now with plenty of pro players coming out with statements of battling depression and the like. Unfortunately, Twisten isn't the first pro player in VALORANT to go through depression and he wouldn't be the last.
If you are suffering from depression or any form of mental health, do seek out professional help and/or treatment. You are not alone.
