Riot Games pays tribute to Twisten in Valorant
Hara Amorós / Riot Games / LVP / lagRiot Games has paid tribute to deceased Valorant pro Karel ‘Twisten’ Ašenbrener in the game with a Player Title.
Team Vitality announced Twisten’s death on July 7. The Valorant pro had been dealing with depression and had spent a short time in a mental health hospital earlier this year due to self-harming.
He was a standout Jett player for Team Vitality and rose to prominence on BIG and Entropiq before signing with the French organization in late 2022.
Lance Skundrich/Riot GamesTwisten immortalized in Valorant with Player Title
Riot has now made deceased Valorant pro Twisten’s in-game name a Player Title in the upcoming Episode 7 Act 1 Battle Pass.
The in-game tribute to the Valorant pro is the second time Riot has honored a recently passed professional player.
In the Episode 6 Act 3 Battle Pass, the Valorant developer immortalized Gizem ‘Luie’ Harmankaya with her own Player Title. Luie died in the aftermath of the Turkish earthquakes and played in the EMEA Game Changers circuit.
Just like with Luie’s Player Title, fans will be able to obtain the Twisten Player Title through the free version of the Battle Pass. It will be available after players have finished the fifth tier.
In the wake of his passing, multiple community figures pledged to donate funds to mental health charities in remembrance of the pro. Before his death, Twisten himself set up a charity drive for VCT LOCK//IN which saw him donate a flat amount per every Shorty kill at the event.
Community members kept his charity drive alive for VCT Masters Tokyo and have pledged over $6,000 for the initiative.
Players can continue to honor Twisten by unlocking the Player Title in Valorant as the new Episode is set to release on June 27.