Team Vitality opts out from EMEA Last Chance qualifier after the recent passing of Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener

Team Vitality took this decision so the team can take a break and focus on themselves.


Team Vitality opts out from EMEA Last Chance qualifier after the recent passing of Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener

(credits: @twistenvalorant)

Valorant’s distinctive game mechanics and in-game cosmetics are dominating the gaming industry. The past two years have seen a lot of traction in the game’s eSports industry. The eSports Majors have become a huge success due to the massive viewership. The Valorant Champions Tour, or VCT, is currently in full bloom. Players are fighting grueling matches against each other in the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023. All teams are preparing for the Champions main event in August. However, Team Vitality won’t be participating in the EMEA LCQ for the VCT Champions 2023.

This month has not been great for the eSports community. Furthermore, it has been a crushing time for Team Vitality. Recently, on 6th June, Vitality’s Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener passed away. This was a piece of really unfortunate news for the eSports industry. The passing of Twisten has been a blow to the team and the whole Org. He was an irreplaceable member of the org, and his death has shaken his team quite badly.

YouTube video

The team recruited the Czech player in late 2022 during the Riot Games announcement of the team franchising system. In the lower bracket quarterfinal of VCT EMEA playoffs, NAVI competed against Twisten, who top-fragged for his team. And his passing away before the start of the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023 has been a huge hit to the team. In a recent tweet, Team Vitality announced that they’d be opting out of the EMEA Last Chance qualifier and the VCT Champions main event.

Related: Valorant community mourns as Team Vitality’s pro player Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener passes away at the age of 19

Team Vitality opts out from EMEA Last Chance Qualifiers in light of Twisten’s passing

ezgif.com gif maker 9
(credits: @twistenvalorant)

Team Vitality lost against Fut Esports and couldn’t make it to the Masters Tokyo 2023. The team was all set to participate in the EMEA LCQs. However, their core player, Twisten, passed away. The team has taken a big hit from Twisten’s death. Thus, both the team and the organization need time to recuperate, and thus Team Vitality has announced that they won’t be participating in the EMEA LCQs on their official Twitter handle.

In the Twitter post, the organization mentioned that they are deeply shaken by the passing of their core team member. So to respect him, his family, and the whole team, they wouldn’t be participating in the EMEA Last Chance Qualifiers and, eventually, the Champions’ main event. They said they already talked with the higher-ups at the Riot Games and had taken their agreement over this decision. This is good, as it would give time for the team to recover from their loss. The support from the fans and other eSports organizations has been overwhelming.

Although this incident is unfortunate, it has brought the esports industry much closer. Twisten had pledged that he would donate money to charity whenever he got a ‘shorty kill’ during the Masters Tokyo 2023. However, after his passing, prominent figures in the eSports industry like RyanCentral and M80, along with others, have chosen to honor Twisten’s pledge in his stead. We won’t be seeing Team Vitality participate in the EMEA LCQs, but it’s a necessary break for the team.

In case you missed it: