After a sub-par 2024,
NRG Esports
NRG Esports
North America
Rank #8
FiNESSE
Pujan Mehta
s0m
Sam Oh
crashies
Austin Roberts
Ethan
Ethan Arnold
Demon1
Max Mazanov
have broken up one of the most iconic duos of Valorant history by bidding farewell to Victor "Victor"
Wong and Head Coach Chet "Chet"
Singh while welcoming back Max "Demon1"
Mazanov from the bench.
A veteran in the competitive scene with a notable track record, Victor was a part of the original
Envy
Envy
Inactive
Marved
Jimmy Nguyen
Victor
Victor Wong
crashies
Austin Roberts
FiNESSE
Pujan Mehta
yay
Jaccob Whiteaker
core that attended eight majors over the course of three years. Their most successful year, 2022, net them a first, second, and third place finish at all three international events. Chet, having joined later in the 2021 season, assisted the team throughout their journey, providing additional structure and discipline to take the squad to new heights.
Demon1, on the other hand, was a breakout rookie who took the scene by storm in 2023 after hoisting North America's first-ever Champions trophy in front of a home crowd. He spent time in Tier 3 prior to being picked up by
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses
North America
Rank #22
Derrek
Derrek Ha
NaturE
Nicholas Garrison
supamen
Phat Le
Apoth
Vincent Le
jawgemo
Alexander Mor
and made two grand final appearances at both of the majors he attended. Following 2023's Champions, he would go on to sign with NRG ahead of the 2024 season.
NRG hit a roadblock after their 2023 Champions run was cut short by two convincing losses to Chinese underdogs
Bilibili Gaming
Bilibili Gaming
China
Rank #5
B3ar
Yang Zhanxiong (杨瞻雄)
whzy
Wang Haozhe (王昊哲)
Levius
Lu Yinzhong (卢胤中)
nephh
Marcus Tan
Flex1n
Lo Rui (罗瑞)
Knight
Liu Yuxiang (刘宇翔)
Yosemite
Wang Lei (王磊)
, prompting Pujan "FiNESSE"
Mehta and Sam "s0m"
Oh to step down from the roster to pursue streaming while Ardis "ardiis"
Svarenieks returned to EMEA to rejoin his teammates on
Natus Vincere
Natus Vincere
Europe
Rank #22
ANGE1
Kyrylo Karasov
Shao
Andrey Kiprsky
Zyppan
Pontus Eek
SUYGETSU
Dmitry Ilyushin
ardiis
Ardis Svarenieks
. Through thick and thin, the duo of Austin "crashies"
Roberts and Victor was ever-reliant, allowing for a rebuild around the pair for the 2024 season.
After onboarding world champions Ethan "Ethan"
Arnold and Demon1, NRG brought back another familiar face – Jimmy "Marved"
Nguyen – to reunite with crashies and Victor. With a roster of five ready for the Americas Kickoff, the team looked to qualify for Masters Madrid early on, but were denied a spot after falling to
Sentinels
Sentinels
North America
Rank #2
TenZ
Tyson Ngo
Zellsis
Jordan Montemurro
zekken
Zachary Patrone
johnqt
Mohamed Amine Ouarid
Sacy
Gustavo Rossi
– the eventual international winners – in the qualifying match of playoffs.
Hoping to shake off their loss as a fluke and nothing more, NRG entered Stage 1 with Masters Shanghai in their sights. However, their results were far worse than at Kickoff, as the team failed to even qualify for playoffs, leading to more roster changes that saw the return of FNS and s0m while Demon1 was benched and Marved released.
Despite these changes, Split 2 once again yielded similar results; NRG barely missed out on playoffs, this time being denied an appearance at Champions. In preparation for next season, the organization opted to not renew Victor's contract, while releasing Chet and their analyst duo of Vladimir "vladk0r" Kornev and yeboislays , the former potentially eyeing a return to the Counter Strike scene.
Victor has stated that he is now a free agent for the upcoming season, while Chet announced that he is open to offers in franchising and challengers, as well as CS2.
Currently rebuilding,
NRG Esports
NRG Esports
North America
Rank #8
FiNESSE
Pujan Mehta
s0m
Sam Oh
crashies
Austin Roberts
Ethan
Ethan Arnold
Demon1
Max Mazanov
are now: