Twisten’s charity drive broke its donation goal

The charity donation drive set by Valorant analyst Ryan ‘RyanCentral’ Horton to honor deceased Valorant pro, Karel ‘Twisten’ Ašenbrener, has surpassed its goal and netted more than $8000.

The Valorant community was in disbelief and sorrow when the news of Karel “Twisten” Aenbrener’s sudden death surfaced online. The exact reason for the 19-year-old’s passing is unknown, but Twisten’s friends and teammates allege that the professional athlete committed suicide after struggling with depression for more than two years. The professional athlete had a history of mental health problems and had self-injurious tendencies, most notably after the VCT LOCK/IN the previous year.

THE SHORTY DRIVE IS LIVE !

Here you can donate an amount for each shorty kill. Whether it’s 25 euros like Twisten did for LOCK/IN or just £1. You can take part here 🙂 https://t.co/NQfiO3pDau pic.twitter.com/8MUyFCeuHD

— RyanCentral (@RyanCentral_) June 15, 2023

 

Following the incident, Ryan “RyanCentral” Horton, a VCT commentator and analyst, urged the Valorant community to maintain Twisten’s “€25 for a shorty kill for charity” promise at international events in memory of the former Vitality star. Before he passed away, Twisten set a similar charity initiative for the VCT LOCK/IN competition, donating €25 for each kill made with the Shorty shotgun sidearm.

After that, a number of prominent Valorant members joined in and made the same commitment as Twisten for the forthcoming VCT Masters Tokyo. Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, a Shopify Rebellion player, also contributed to the initiative by pledging to keep the fundraising going for Masters and Champions 2023. Marco Mereu, the CEO of M80, announced that his company would voluntarily give a donation of $100 for each Shorty kill in the Ascension, Masters, and Champions competitions.

Twisten’s Shorty-Kill Campaign raised more than $8000

The effort has so far raised $8,328, much above its stated $5,000 goal, as of the time of writing. The campaign is still going on since RyanCentral has given donors until July 15 to modify their pledges in accordance with Shorty Kill. According to the donation page, players killed enemies with the Shorty 67 times during the contest. Furthermore, more than 78 people have already made the pledge to donate.

The money raised by RyanCentral will be given to the nonprofit organization Rise Above the Disorder (RAD), which was founded in 2012 and is dedicated to making mental health care available and affordable for everyone. While Ryan’s efforts to keep Twisten’s Shorty-kill campaign going are commendable, he wasn’t the only one to pay respect to the late Valorant player.

The Riot Games broadcast noted Twisten’s passing at the beginning of VCT Masters Tokyo, with broadcasters Yinsu ‘Yinsu’ Collins and Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez paying respect to the player in an opening section. Moreover, Twisten’s in-game name has been turned into a Player Title in the upcoming Episode 7 Act 1 Battle Pass by Riot.

Header: Riot Games