“I’m free,” Valorant Champions 2023 winner and MVP Demon1 parts ways with Evil Geniuses

Demon1 parts ways with hsi World Championship-winning roster of Evil Geniuses after the organization forced pay-cuts on players

“I’m free,” Valorant Champions 2023 winner and MVP Demon1 parts ways with Evil Geniuses

Image via: Riot Games

Evil Geniuses had one of the biggest underdog stories in Esports history during the last VCT 2023 season. The team was not the favourite to win the tournament by any means. However, their persistence landed them in the finals against Paper Rex, which they won with a comfortable 3-1 victory to become VCT 2023 World champions.

The team also placed second in the VCT 2023 Masters in Tokyo and won 6 different tournaments in the past year. Demon1 was primarily credited as being one of the main reasons for the team’s success and the gold-medal victory at the world championship. He would also go on to win many individual awards.

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Demon1 was dubbed Valorant’s new villain and named MVP of the tournament for VCT 2023 for carrying his team to the finals. Additionally, Demon1 was also awarded the Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year award by the Esports awards. Demon1’s efforts and the team’s camaraderie quickly put them at the top of the Valorant scene.

However, their happiness was short-lived. A mere three weeks after their world championship victory, Evil Geniuses announced they would not retain their roster unless the players agreed to steep pay cuts. The organization allowed players to explore other options if dissatisfied with the new pay grade.

Demon1 quits Evil Geniuses Valorant Roster

After receiving this news, the Evil Geniuses roster expressed their frustration on Twitter. Ethan and C0M commented that winning the world championship doesn’t matter anymore. C0M simply said that he was grateful for the people he got to be around. The players were rumoured to earn upwards of $25k/mo before the cuts.

Demon1 Evil Geniuses VCT 2023
Image via: Riot Games

Clearly, Demon1 felt the same way as his teammates and was looking for a way to get out. It seems that his wish finally came true. Demon1 posted on Twitter, “Holy sh*t, I’m free”, with the GIF of a contract being signed. His language clarifies that the Valorant Champions 2023 MVP is glad to be out of Evil Geniuses. Fans are waiting to see which organization picks him up next.

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