NA’s demon is back with a vengeance.
Argentinian VALORANT squad Leviatán has finally unveiled Max "Demon1" Mazanov, with an Oct. 11 announcement confirming his arrival ahead of the 2025 VCT season.
The 22-year-old, who sat out the second half of VCT 2024 and Champions Seoul after his benching at NRG, has linked up with fellow countrymen Ian "tex" Botsch and Corbin "C0M" Lee at Leviatán. This is the second change for the squad since wrapping up the season; Roberto "Mazino" Rivas is out but he remains on Leviatán's inactive roster as a restricted free agent.
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A demon's return to the VALORANT server
Leviatán unveiled Demon1 with an epic announcement and video on YouTube in what was one of the worst kept secrets of the 2024 VCT postseason. His acquisition comes just days after NRG locked in their own roster for 2025, with the American org leaning away from Demon1 who had been benched since May.
After cementing himself as a bonafide star in his rookie year, which included an epic win at VALORANT Champions 2023 and runners-up at Masters Tokyo, Demon1 made the move to NRG after EG's capitulation and subsequent exit from esports. The team crashed out of the 2024 Kickoff event to Sentinels, then failed to make the playoffs of VCT Americas Stage One.
Many considered the NRG roster to be stacked, but following their VCT Americas defeat, it was decided changes had to be made. Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen and Demon1 were the two to miss out, with Demon1 riding the pine for the better part of the 2024 season. During this time the superstar duelist switched to streaming, awaiting the end of the season and a chance to hit the server once again.
His chance would come amidst the biggest roster shuffle in VCT history. An Oct. 9 report from Sheep Esports' Alejandro "Anonimotum" Gomis stated Leviatán had signed Demon1 to replace Erick "aspas" Santos. As of the announcement aspas remains a member of Leviatán, but it has been rumored the Brazilian is on the outer with the org despite his contract running through 2025.
Leviatán's 2024 season was far from disappointing. The squad opened the VCT year with a third place finish at VCT Americas Stage One. Despite falling short of a playoff spot at Masters Shanghai, the team stuck it out for Stage Two. They were rewarded in kind, claiming the Americas title in a 3-1 win over G2 Esports.
Leviatán's purple patch of form extended to Champions 2024. The squad hit Seoul hard, slicing their way through the group stage and playoffs upper bracket until they were halted by eventual champs EDward Gaming and Team Heretics. Leviatán believe Demon1 is the all-important piece that will see the Argentinian org onto the top step in 2025.
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