Sources: Vitality close in on BIG’s Valorant player Twisten
Riot GamesVCT EMEA partner team Vitality are locked in talks with BIG for the transfer of duelist Karel ‘Twisten’ Ašenbrener, sources have told Dexerto.
Talks between the two organizations are understood to be at an advanced stage, with a deal expected to be thrashed out soon as the partner teams have until October 15 to submit six players and a head coach for VCT 2023 to Riot.
Twisten has been a permanent member of BIG’s Valorant squad since October 2021, when he was signed by the German organization after undergoing a trial. Last month, he and the other players on BIG announced that they were weighing up their options for 2023 after the organization was not selected for Riot Games’ partnered league in the EMEA region.
BIG attended the VCT 2022 EMEA Challengers tournaments in Stages 1 and 2, finishing both events in 11th-12th place.
Last weekend, Twisten played a key role as BIG defeated KOI in the grand final of the EMEA qualifier for Red Bull Home Ground #3. It is unclear if the Czech player will be playing for BIG at the event in December, where Vitality will also be in attendance.
Vitality rebuild for VCT 2023
Vitality currently have just two players in their starting lineup (Santeri ‘BONECOLD’ Sassi and Jokūbas ‘ceNder’ Labutis), with former OG LDN UTD coach Salah ‘Salah’ Barakat recently brought in to guide the team.
The French organization could not reach an agreement with team member Kamil ‘baddyG’ Graniczka for a contract extension, while it decided to move on from Nathan ‘nataNk’ Bocqueho and Joona ‘H1ber’ Parviainen.
Last month, Vitality were rumored to be after Acend’s Mehmet Yağız ‘cNed’ İpek, but the Turkish star is understood to be close to signing with NAVI along with four players of FunPlus Phoenix and their head coach.
Vitality have also been linked with Polish player Michał ‘MOLSI’ Łącki, who worked under Salah on OG LDN UTD and is open to offers.
Stay up to date with all the transfer activity in the Valorant scene with our free agency live tracker.