Reading Time: 2 mins read

Published: April 26, 2023

Written by: Stoyan Todorov


  • VALORANT pro Gizem “Luie” Harmankaya died in the Turkish earthquake in February
  • Riot Games decided to pay tribute to the deceased player using a player card title
  • The item will be available for free to all VALORANT players using the current battle pass

Professional VALORANT player Gizem “Luie” Harmankaya, who died earlier this year in the Turkish and Syrian earthquake, was commemorated by Riot in the game’s latest battle pass.

Riot Pays Tribute to Luie

Games such as VALORANT have a large world-spanning community that breeds many professional players. Unfortunately, life is life and some of these players are met with a tragic fate. This is what happened to Turkish player Gizem “Luie” Harmankaya, who perished in the Turkish and Syrian earthquake in February this year, which ultimately claimed the lives of over 50 000 people. 

The sad news was announced by Luie’s former Game Changers squad Unknownpros on February 8. It was reported that the player was trapped underneath rubble caused by the earthquakes for almost three days before passing away. “Unfortunately, we lost our former player Gizem Harmankaya,” Unknownpros’ statement read. “Our condolences to her family and to all the fans. Rest in peace.”

In order to pay tribute to Luie, Riot Games have added a player card title, available for free to all VALORANT players through the Episode Six, Act Three battle pass. This was announced on April 25, shortly after the game’s latest patch went live by Jo-Ellen Aragon, Riot’s VALORANT global community manager.

VALORANT players will be able to obtain the Gizem player title and equip it after reaching the fifth tier of the current battle pass. The player titles at tier five are free for all players and do not require a purchase of the battle pass to unlock.

Luie’s untimely death brought an end to a successful VALORANT career. She debuted on the professional scene in August of 2021, initially playing for Galakticos Sirens. She quickly moved to represent Valstars and Vivace Vista at Game Changers, before eventually signing with her last team, Unknownpros in April 2022.

During her short but eventful career, Luie participated in a total of 38 pro VALOREANT matches, according to esports tracking site VLR.gg. She was last seen playing on the big stage at the Rebels Finals series on August 14, 2022, in Istanbul. Despite her team, Unknownpros being eliminated by Beşiktaş Esports, Luie recorded an impressive result, finishing the series with a 1.10 rating and 34 kills.

Unfortunately, we will never see where her skills might have taken her career. 

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