Shopify Rebellion adds esports veteran bENITA to VALORANT roster

Shopify Rebellion just got a big boon to its VALORANT roster after signing CS:GO and VALORANT veteran Benita “bENITA” Novshadian, the organization announced today.

Back in March, bENITA decided to move on from CLG Red after seven years and two games with the org. She started with CLG Red in CS:GO and then eventually moved over to VALORANT, where the team saw mild success in the VCT Game Changers tournament’s inaugural year. She left CLG Red because she decided a change was needed for her to achieve personal growth.

“The decision to step down came at a specific point in my life where I realized change is needed for growth,” bENITA said on Twitter after CLG announced her departure. “I have an overwhelming desire to continue being the best player I can be & I’m using it as a catalyst for my future.”

Now, bENITA will compete with Shopify Rebellion, a team that’s been inching closer to bringing down Cloud9 White, who have won every single VCT Game Changers NA tournament that they have competed in. With bENITA on the roster now, Cloud9 White are in danger of losing their crown in the next VCT Game Changers NA tournament, which is scheduled to begin its main event on July 7.

BENITA will join Kayla “flowerful” Horton, Diana “sonder” Zhang, Kiana “KP” Lytle, and Lorrian “Lorri” Elad as the fifth and final member after Han “it not han” Nguyen left for CLG Red in March and Vannesa “panini” Emory was released from the roster.

Before she switched over to VALORANT, bENITA was a founding member of the women’s CS:GO team for CLG Red. She was also one of the founding members of the VALORANT team when CLG Red decided to start competing in that title. She is one of the most celebrated women in esports, taking home first place in nine different tournaments.

The next VCT Game Changers NA tournament begins with its open qualifiers on June 30. The open qualifiers will conclude on July 3 and the qualified teams will move on to the main event where they can earn points for the global tournament later this year. The main event will be held from July 7 to 10.