M80 and The Guard, two teams that had already earned spots in Ascension, made the decision to honour a rival who had recently gone away at the North American VALORANT Challengers finals on June 10.
One of the best players in Europe, Team Vitality’s star duelist Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener, died on June 6, surprising and saddening the entire competitive VALORANT community. And today, M80 and The Guard agreed to a Shorty duel in honor of Twisten, who was known for his immaculate use of the sidearm.
On the first map of Fracture, both teams agreed to buy only Shorties, taking the zipline one by one. This led to a joust, where one player from M80 and The Guard would meet up partway through the zipline, dueling with the sidearm.
Considering its recent nerfs, it took a couple of times back and forth for even one kill to go through, but the intention of it was clear: to pay homage to a player who used that gun as well as anyone could, in a joyful way that felt like something Twisten would do. He was known for showing love and respect to fellow competitors, exemplified by this wholesome moment against FUT Esports.
On top of that, The Guard player Michael “neT” Bernet made a vow the day after Twisten passed. For every Shorty kill he got, he would donate $25 to a mental health charity, updating the total after every match since. Of course, that includes this joust round, which he said he wanted an ace in.
Fans talked about both neT’s donations and the Shorty joust round as respectable, showing class. Even though Twisten played in a different region, pros around the world know the lifestyle of a competitive esports professional and the stress or sadness that comes with it.
At time of writing, the match is still ongoing, which means that neT could potentially donate more money depending on how many Shorty kills he gets after the pistol round.