Very few players in recent esports history manage a rookie campaign like Evil Geniuses VALORANT star Max “Demon1” Mazanov has had, but then again, few players have joined a team halfway through the season and became the catalyst that pushes the team to a world championship.
The newest NA superstar is looking to add to a trophy case that already includes the Champions 2023 trophy and the MVP award for Champions, with potentially three Esports Awards, as he’s been nominated for the most categories amongst all players, along with Team Vitality Rocket League star Alexis “Zen” Bernier.
Demon1 has been nominated for PC Player of the Year, Breakthrough Player of the Year (for best rookie), and as a member of Evil Geniuses he’s nominated for Team of the Year. He and Zen are the only players in all of esports to be nominated in every player category they were eligible for, and tied Scump for most total nominations this year with three, though the former Call of Duty legend’s nominations are all in content categories.
Despite the success of Demon1 and the EG roster as a whole though, both fans and the players are looking ahead to a 2024 where the players could go their separate ways. The EG organization has reportedly told its players they must take a pay cut to return, and are reportedly blocking the players from entering unrestricted free agency via massive buyouts. It seems unlikely that the entire EG roster will return to play under the org next season. EG coach potter was also nominated for Coach of the Year.
If Demon1 manages to clean up at the Esports Awards, it could mean an even higher asking price that other teams would have to meet just to pry him away from EG, or alternatively, a higher asking price from himself to any org looking to sign him.
Published: Sep 20, 2023 11:41 am