‘Valorant‘s very own villain, Demon1, has finally landed a contract and has signed with VCT Americas org ENVY for the 2026 season. At the start of the season, none of the franchised teams offered him a contract, but thanks to his 2-match stint for Cloud9, Demon1 has a new home.
ENVY had a great start in VCT Americas Kickoff 2026 as they defeated former world champions Evil Geniuses; however, things didn’t go the way they hoped for. Even after great showings against teams like MIBR and Cloud9, they stumbled to the lower bracket and will face Evil Geniuses once again in an elimination match.
Demon1 Joins The Very Team He Thrashed A Few Weeks Ago
After Oxy had to leave due to the unfortunate passing of his mother, Cloud9 brought in Demon1 as their sub to fill the spot. Many people doubted him as he wasn’t the first pick for any of the franchises and last competed for DRG in Valorant Champions 2025.
However, when he landed on the server, he was owning everybody in the duels. Thanks to him, Cloud9 cruised in the middle bracket with back-to-back victories. One of the teams he decimated was ENVY. With a whopping 248 ACS and 72 kills, he sent ENVY to the lower bracket.
Ever since, every franchise was high on him as he was not signed full-time with Cloud 9, and speculation was going around in the community. For weeks rumour was that he would be signing LOUD. But a few days later, reports came out that he was in talks to sign with ENVY, which he ultimately did.
ENVY Moves Inspire To Reserve Roster
In subsequent news, ENVY announced that they are benching their “architect”, Inspire. Earlier, it was revealed that there has been some falling between the Inspire and the franchise, and things are not looking great. Now, it has been confirmed that Inspire is no longer in the active roster.
For fans who don’t know, Inspire played a massive role in bringing ENVY to the tier 1. He built the Rankers roster, which ENVY signed to compete in VCT Challengers. Inspire played a key role in the Challengers league and helped the team to re-enter tier 1.
According to some reports, there was some friction between him and the newly signed players, Rossy and Keznit. So, it seems like things were not going in the ENVY camp.
Inspire shared on X that ENVY has allowed him to explore new options as a restricted free agent and will be looking for a new team.
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As for ENVY goes, they will face their new signees’ former team, Evil Geniuses, to keep their hopes alive to book their ticket for Valorant Masters Santiago. Now, Demon1 has to save the team he sent to the verge of elimination.
