Karel “Twisten” Aenbrener, one of Team Vitality’s Valorant squad’s youngest players, was declared dead last night by a suspected suicide, according to a team assistant manager’s report.
Twisten was signed by Vitality in November 2022 while still a member of team Berlin International Gaming. Twisten, despite his young age, was a mainstay on the squad and already played in a high level competition, namely the VCT 2022 EMEA Challengers. Noticing his potential as a duelist, Vitality opted to sign him just before the G-Loot Valorant Clash Grand Finals on November 25, 2022.
His potential as a duelist was evident throughout numerous big competitions in recent months. Twisten shown exceptional mechanical abilities and helped Vitality in multiple matches during the VCT LOCK//IN 2023 Sao Paulo tournament and the VCT 2023 EMEA League, which concluded two weeks ago. After the EMEA competition, Team Vitality have yet to reveal their plans for for the next tournament. But as fans were eagerly anticipating their next adventure, Vitality reported that Twisten had died last night.
“We are heartbroken to share with you that our Valorant player Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener passed away last night.” wrote Team Vitality via their official Twitter account. “The whole Team Vitality organization is devastated by this news, and we will be stopping all communication for the rest of the day.”
Team Vitality’s assistant coach Harry “Gorilla” Mepham explained that the 19-year-old died by suicide. According to reports on social media, Twisten had a troubled history regarding his mental health and been hospitalised once in February due to self-harm.
Twisten and Yammers‘ death in the recent weeks highlighted the necessity of mental health management in the esports industry, which is highly competitive and prone to insults and bullies. It’s time for esports orgs to open their arms to the community and work together to improve the industry as a whole.
