Players react to Demon1’s comeback at Champions

One week before the start of VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions, Dragon Ranger Gaming announced that Max "Demon1" Mazanov would be joining the team as an emergency substitute due to visa issues with Ilya "vo0kashu" Ushakov. The news came as a surprise—not only to fans but also to the players already waiting in Paris.

At the pre-tournament press conference, several players expressed excitement about Demon1’s return to the biggest stage in VALORANT.

A Dangerous Player to Face On Stage

During the first panel featuring Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro, Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto, Ran "Viva" Lifan, and Karel "Flickless" Maeckelbergh, the group was asked which teams and players they thought would stand out at the tournament. Nearly all of them pointed to DRG with Demon1 as a dark horse.

“I think my sleeper-pick is going to be DRG with Demon1. If we can get his Championship form back I think he’ll do great.” - Zellsis.

F0rsaken from Paper Rex agreed, noting that Demon1 might be a serious threat in Paris. While Viva backed PRX as the strongest team overall, he still highlighted Demon1 as one of the best players in the tournament. As the panel continued, Zellsis was asked who he thought would be the biggest hype personality on stage. Once again, Demon1 was his pick:

“I know he has this aura of being nonchalant but when Evil Geniuses would win, he would always stand up. I think maybe we'll see more of it mid-match.”

Former EG squad meets in Paris

With Demon1 back on stage, three of the five former Evil Geniuses players now have a shot at claiming their second Champions trophy. When Ethan "Ethan" Arnold was asked how it felt to reunite with Alexander "jawgemo" Mor and Demon1 in Paris, he shared his excitement:

“It feels good, all five [former EG players] would have been even better. I think the only thing that can top a Champs win is doing it twice, so that’s the goal.”

He then got the question who he believed had the best shot at winning it all, apart from himself. The answer was Demon1 as he brings a lot to a team.

“He’s very consistent. I think you could always count on him to do his job, especially in his prime, he always over delivered if anything.”

DRG happy to have more experience on the team

During the panel with Shao "Nicc" Yi-chun from DRG, he explained that the team had been aware of potential visa issues with vo0kashu, and prepared to play with a sub. Bringing in Demon1 offered a different dynamic—something the squad hadn’t had before. According to Nicc, Demon1 is in great shape coming into Champs.

“I think this might be the Demon1 who was once the world champion. His comprehension of the game, the content and some of his thoughts are really awesome. And I always believe he can lead us in this tournament based on his experience.”

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Featured image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games.