Demon1 joins ENVY, replaces inspire on 2026 VCT roster

ENVY has signed Maximilian ‘Demon1’ Mazanov to its 2026 VCT roster ahead of its matchup against Evil Geniuses at Americas Kickoff 2026.

The American-Russian player will replace Hunter ‘inspire’ Schline in the line-up after the organisation decided to bench him on February 5th.

“Today Envy moved me to the bench, and they’re allowing me to explore options as a restricted F/A. Nothing makes me happier than being on that stage, and I’m going to continue to grind to get back there ASAP. I’ll also be streaming daily,” inspire stated on X (Twitter).

With Demon1’s addition, here is the updated ENVY roster:

Demon1 has been a big name in VALORANT ever since he joined Evil Geniuses in 2023 and went on to lift the Champions trophy in his Tier 1 debut year. The player later had a brief stint with LEVIATÁN and Dragon Rangers Gaming; however, he has struggled to land a long-term contract, until now. 

Before signing with ENVY, Demon1 filled in for Francis ‘OXY’ Hoang in Cloud9 during its matches against LEVIATÁN and ENVY itself. The team ended up winning both series, with Demon1 securing an impressive KDA of 72/59/13 against his new team.

inspire, on the other hand, was part of the original RANKERS roster that was later signed by ENVY, which marked its return to competitive VALORANT after three years. He helped the organisation get promoted to the VCT circuit by winning Ascension 2025. As such, the decision to move him to the reserve roster shocked many within the community. 

Addressing the situation, ENVY’s team owner Mike Rufail said: “Hunter is a special player and will always be a legend here at Envy. I want to be clear that this decision wasn’t made because he doesn’t belong in Tier 1, he absolutely does — he got us back there.

“We know he will fit perfectly with another team. Until he finds that team, we will continue to employ and support him on our reserve roster. Thank you, inspire.”

After losing its battle against MIBR and Cloud9, ENVY dropped to the Lower Bracket in the newly introduced triple-elimination format. The team is now one loss away from exiting the tournament and seeing its hopes of qualifying for VALORANT Masters Santiago getting crushed. 

With the goal to stay alive in VCT Americas Kickoff 2026, ENVY will begin its Lower Bracket run against Evil Geniuses on February 6th. In its previous encounter during the event’s opening round, ENVY defeated EG 2-1, and the organisation will be hoping to achieve a similar result this time as well.

Fans will be able to catch all the action live on VCT Americas’ official Twitch and YouTube channels.