The man behind one of Valorant’s first and biggest memes is reportedly dead.
According to George Geddes of Dot Esports, the man behind the original “Revive me, Jett” video is dead. Lance Arcilla, who used the nickname “Finest” in his famous video, was just 21 years old at the time of his passing. The news spread across Facebook and was later confirmed by various outlets. As of this writing, the cause of death is uncertain.
Arcilla achieved viral status in 2020 among Valorant players after a match he was playing in was posted on social media. The video sees him begging a teammate playing as Jett to revive him, which goes on for an extended period of time. Even as players on his team tell him that Jett can’t revive, he continues asking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gat0s4Zl_iI
Little is known about Arcilla’s life beyond the fact that he was from the Philippines. Despite the relative mystery surrounding him, news of his passing was met with sadness throughout the Valorant fandom and esports scene.
Team Secret, which fields one of the top Valorant teams in the Philippines, sent out its condolences on social media:
The video featuring Arcilla went viral quickly and remains popular to this day. The confusion between Arcilla’s Jett and his teammate’s Sage, the agent that actually heals, echoed the uncertainty for many players tackling the new game for the first time. The silly gameplay clip was then immortalized by Riot Games in a number of different ways.
The biggest example is the “Revive me, Jett” spray that was available to players as part of the Valorant Episode 2 Act 2 Battle Pass in 2021. The battle pass paid homage to a number of memes both in and out of Valorant.
As of this writing, Riot Games has not yet paid homage to Arcilla’s passing but an acknowledgment will likely come in the future given his place in the game’s brief history.
Steven Rondina
About Steven Rondina
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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