DRG sign Demon1 to replace vo0kashu in Champions Paris

Dragon Ranger Gaming has officially signed Max "Demon1" Mazanov as their sixth man going into VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions. The American player has been inactive since May 2025 and will now be able to attend his second ever Champions event.

According to @GoogGoogGame on X, the signing is due to Ilya "vo0kashu" Ushakov being unable to attend Champions Paris because of visa issues. As a result, DRG brought in Demon1 to fill his spot on the roster.

This is Demon1’s first time playing outside the Americas region. Now playing for a Chinese team, he will have to adapt to the squads playstyle in a very short time. What role he’ll play on the team, and whether he will be one of the starting players in the group stage, is still unclear. DRG is the second seed from VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - China Stage 2, and their first match at Champs will be against T1 on Sunday, September 14.

Check out our VCT Champions Paris Viewer's Guide for the whole schedule and more.

Previous Champions winner

In his rookie year Demon1 made it to the VCT 2023 - Champions stage playing for Evil Geniuses. He helped the squad take the prestigious title and trophy home after taking down Paper Rex in the Grand Final.

Since then, he’s bounced around the competitive scene. In 2024, he played for NRG, though his performances didn’t quite match the standout level he displayed with EG. After leaving NRG in October 2024, he signed with Leviatán.

However, he continued to struggle on LEV, and was granted permission to look for new opportunities in May 2025 while still being under contract. Since then, Demon1 has been inactive, not being able to find a new squad to join—until now. Signing with DRG gives the American star another shot at glory on VALORANT’s biggest international stage.

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Featured Image Source: Tina Jo/Riot Games.