Valorant pro player sym dies aged 21 after car accident

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Valorant player Tyler “sym” Porter has died aged 21 in a car crash.

On May 5th, a friend shared the sad news on X (formerly Twitter) that former professional gamer Porter and his friend Austen had both died in a car accident. The accident happened while Porter was celebrating his 21st birthday.

It is with deep sadness that I share the news of the passing of my best friend, @symstar, and our friend Austen. They tragically died in a car accident late last night. Tyler was celebrating his 21st birthday.

It is with immense sadness that I share the news of the passing of my best friend, Tyler (@symstar), and our friend Austen. They tragically died in a car accident late last night while Tyler was celebrating his 21st birthday. Tyler brought joy and laughter to so many, and…

— Harry (@HarryOG7) May 5, 2026

I remember watching Porter really make a name for himself in Valorant with TSM. He started out on their academy team, and then in 2024, he actually made it to the main TSM roster – that was awesome to see!

Tributes paid to sym

TSM paid tribute to Porter in a statement posted to social media following news of his death.

TSM VALORANT acknowledged that your contributions were significant, both in developing our Academy players and in helping the main team achieve success.

We’re deeply saddened by the loss of @symstar and will cherish the memories we have. We wish peace to both them and Austen.

It’s hard to believe I’m saying this, but we lost a really amazing player, @symstar. He helped our Academy team level up and was a huge part of us finally reaching Ascension with the main roster – he truly made his mark on TSM VALORANT. He had so much potential and we’re all going to miss him terribly. Along with Austen, may they both rest in peace. 🤍🖤

— TSM (@TSM) May 5, 2026

Players and personalities from the Valorant esports community offered tributes, including Sean “bang” Bezerra from 100 Thieves.

Bang mentioned he and Tyler hadn’t spoken in a while, but they used to be very close friends. They both aimed to become professional players around the same time and often played together when they were starting out.

I’ll always treasure the memories I have with Tyler and everything we learned from each other. I still have this hilarious screenshot of us blowing up each other’s phones, trying to get each other up for practice – we were such messes with our sleep back then! Rest easy, Tyler, you’re gonna be missed a lot.

Leo Faria, Global Head of Valorant Esports at Riot Games, also posted a message following the news.

Faria expressed sympathy to Tyler’s family and friends, saying this sad event shows how precious and delicate life can be. She encouraged everyone to look after themselves, be kind to one another, and cherish their family and friends.

Porter was a competitive Valorant player who showed a lot of potential as a rising star in North America before deciding to stop playing professionally.

He came back to competitive play in early 2026, joining the Valorant team at Winthrop University. His friend, Austen Reed, also competed professionally under the alias “yuno”.

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2026-05-06 13:19