NRG acquires Demon1 and Ethan from VCT 2023 Champion EG roster; Marved from Sentinels
NRG has revealed its roster for the 2024 VALORANT esports season. The North American squad has retained Austin "crashies" Roberts and Victor "Victor" Wong from its 2023 roster, but the three players that have been added to round out the starting five are what have VALORANT fans buzzing.
NRG
Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen, who had an impressive stint on a struggling Sentinels after visa issues delayed his joining of the team until the end of VCT Americas 2023, has been added to the NRG squad. Most notable, however, are the additions of Max “Demon1” Mazanov and Ethan “Ethan” Arnold – two members of Evil Geniuses’ roster that won VALORANT Champions 2023 nearly four months ago.
The signings come three months after reports that players on the Evil Geniuses roster were in “contract jail”. Despite impressive competitive results, several reports of EG hemorrhaging money and potentially leaving esports altogether by 2024 have surfaced. Crucially, reports have stated that the players on Evil Geniuses’ VALORANT roster were told they would be paid less in 2024 than in 2023, despite winning it all at the Forum in Inglewood, CA this past fall. Reports pointed towards EG turning down buyout offers for their players, hence the claims of contract jail.
Big Expectations for the Former Champs
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the signings, the acquisitions themselves cannot be understated for NRG. NRG was the second best squad from North America in the VCT 2023 season, and was equal or superior to EG for a good portion of the season. Adding a cerebral veteran in Ethan and Demon1, the latter of whom proved himself to be the best duelist in the world in his rookie year of competition, make NRG the easy frontrunners for strongest VCT Americas team – and that’s without even factoring in the addition of Marved.
NRG’s new roster will be first seen in action at VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Americas KICK-OFF, which starts on February 16. The tournament will feature the 10 teams from VCT Americas 2023 as well as G2 Esports, who was promoted via Ascension 2023. The top 2 teams from the event will qualify for Masters Madrid, which takes place in March 2024.
