Sym had just turned 21 years old at the time of his passing.
VALORANT pro player Tyler “sym” Porter has died, following a fatal car accident that also claimed the life of another person. Sym was 21 years old at the time of his passing.
The news of sym's death was first revealed by X user @HarryOG7 on Wednesday (6 May). HarryOG7, who claims to have been sym's best friend, revealed that sym and a mutual friend of theirs named Austen passed away the night before in a car accident, while they were on a trip celebrating the former's 21st birthday. Sym's 21st birthday was last Friday (1 May).
“With a broken heart I write this message to everyone that sadly my best friend [sym] and our good friend Austen sadly passed away late last night in a car accident. Tyler was celebrating his 21st birthday trip. I know he brought laughs and smiles to a lot of people and If any you have a nice memory or interaction with him please feel free to share it,” said HarryOG7.
Sym began his professional career in 2020, starting out on smaller teams in the North American scene before catching the attention of prominent organisation TSM and being signed to their Academy team in August 2022. Sym's first stint under the TSM organisation was a short one, only being part of the active roster for a month and staying in the inactive roster for three months before being released.
Sym spent the 2023 season with teams like BreakThru and Moist Moguls, before returning to TSM in 2024 after the organisation signed the roster of BackOutsideBoys to compete in the VALORANT Challengers league. Sym and TSM managed to qualify for the VALORANT Champions Tour Ascension 2024 tournament for North America, where they finished in sixth place.
After TSM temporarily ceased operations of its VALORANT team in October, sym was temporarily left team-less until the organisation re-signed him as part of their 2025 rebuild. However, sym left TSM once again in June 2026. His last competitive appearance saw him play as a stand-in for Winthrop University in VALORANT Challengers last February.
TSM shared a brief tribute to sym on their social media pages, saying the late player “left [his] mark on TSM VALORANT” for “elevating our Academy roster to helping us reach Ascension on the main roster.”
