Popular esports star Karel Asenbrener has died at the age of 19, his team has announced.
Asenbrener was part of the esports squad Team Vitality and last competed on 25 May, according to Escorenews.
In total, they say Asenbrener earned a whopping $10,000 during his gaming career.
Advert
It was Team Vitality who announced his sudden passing in a tweet posted on Wednesday (7 June).
The statement read: "We are heartbroken to share with you that our Valorant player Karel ‘Twisten’ Asenbrener passed away last night.
"We are deeply saddened by this devastating loss, and our first thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this difficult time.
"The whole Team Vitality Organization is devastated by this news."
Advert
Team Vitality later added a follow-up tweet where they stressed the importance of talking and looking after your mental health while directing social media users to the Mental Health Europe website.
Harry 'Gorilla' Mepham, Team Vitality’s assistant coach, also paid tribute to Asenbrener on social media.
"I woke up this morning to the news of one of my closest friends, someone who genuinely felt as if he was my brother, taking his own life," he wrote on Twitter.
Advert
"Words can not describe the grief or emptiness i’m feeling right now. I loved him and forever will.
"I’ll leave this with a quote from his favourite show, and something he used to say to me when i felt down:
“'If you are feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough, set your heart ablaze'. Rest easy brother, we all love you."
Back in February, Asenbrener opened up about his struggles with depression, revealing he spent some time in a mental health hospital.
Advert
"I have been dealing with depression for over two years now. My depression escalated quickly up after Redbull when we had holidays as a team and everyone returned back to their home country for the Christmas and New Year," he wrote.
"I don’t know if people saw it at the event here at the LOCK/IN but over Christmas I did bad things to myself."
He continued: "I self-harmed and my was in bad situation [sic] for a few days and was considering ending it all but my dad saved me.
Advert
"I spent few days in the ‘worst’ Mental Health Hospital for people that have serious problems."
Asenbrener assured fans he was 'doing great mentally and psychically' while thanking his esports teammates.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
Callum Jones