From VALORANT world champion and MVP to free agent: NRG announced they were releasing North American superstar Max “Demon1” Mazanov today, potentially opening up a sweepstakes for the sharp-shooting star.
2024 didn’t go as planned for Demon1, to put it lightly. After setting the world on fire in 2023 by breaking into Evil Geniuses lineup and helping lead the underdog squad to a world championship with some pristine duelist play, Demon1 escaped contract hell and was seemingly bound for greener pastures at NRG. The team failed to make Americas playoffs in the first VCT split, however, and ended up benching Demon1 in between splits as the team tried sought to shake up their fortunes. The move didn’t really pan out, as NRG again missed out on Americas playoffs, and didn’t qualify for any international LANs on the year.
