Just two weeks into Americas Stage 1, LEVIATÁN move 2023 Champion Max “Demon1” Mazanov to the bench after two losses with new roles. After spending over 8 months as a free agent, Victor “Victor” Wong returns to franchising, playing without Austin “crashies” Roberts at his side for the first time in almost 5 years.
After winning Champions in 2023 with Evil Geniuses , Demon1 and his teammate Ethan would leave the organization to join NRG Esports for 2024. Along with three of the old OpTic Gaming members, one of which being his replacement, Victor, expectations were set extremely high for the roster, with many proclaiming that it was a North American super-team. However, the year would not play out so favorably for them, as they fell far below what was expected of them. In Kickoff, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Sentinels , and failed to qualify for Masters Madrid. In Stage 1, they would miss playoffs with a 3-3 record, being blown out and embarrassed in their losses. Their lack of an experienced IGL was proving a major issue and one they would need to solve going into Stage 2. As a result, Demon1 was benched in order to make room for FiNESSE to take the reins of the roster and attempt to salvage NRG's year. Demon1 would remain on the bench for the rest of the season until he was released shortly after the transfer window opened.
A veteran in the competitive scene with a notable track record, Victor was a part of the original ENVY 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. After an outstanding year on Optic, Victor was picked up by NRG Esports, which made it to second place in the Americas League in 2023, which qualified them to Masters Tokyo and Champions Los Angeles. While making it to 4th place in the former, NRG would fall short of expectations, being eliminated in the group stage to Bill Bili Gaming.
After onboarding world champions Ethan "Ethan" Arnold and Demon1, NRG brought back another familiar face – Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen – to reunite with crashies and Victor. However, NRG would once again fail to meet their expectations, missing out on both Master Madrid and Masters Shanghai. In accordance to this, NRG
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, leaving him as a free agent throughout the 2024 off season. After missing out on Kickoff and Masters Bangkok, Victor will return and replace his former team mate on LEVIATÁN, just a few days before their match against FURIA
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