Russian VALORANT captain Igor “Redgar” Vlasov has departed Team Liquid and joined Giants, another team in the VCT EMEA League, ahead of the next season.
Redgar had been a part of Liquid since November 2022, when he joined alongside his former Gambit teammate Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin and Saif “Sayf” Jibraeel to restructure the team after the departures of ScreaM and his brother Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom.
Though Redgar helped Liquid to win the VCT EMEA League over Fnatic in May, the team failed to replicate the success in international events and most notably were the first squad eliminated from VALORANT Champions in August following losses to Natus Vincere and LOUD.
Redgar arrives in Giants, a team that also didn’t make it past the group stage in Champions, to replace Emir “rhyme” Muminovic. The former in-game leader decided to retire in September and left a void in the Giants’ lineup, which will now be filled by Redgar. The Spanish organization already has a complete lineup for 2024, should it not want to make additional changes.
“I’m very grateful to be a part of this team and Spanish community, and as a real Giant I will do my best to lead this team to victory,” Redgar said in an official statement. “I trust this roster and believe that this new chapter of my life will turn into gigantic success.”
As for Liquid, not only do they need a new IGL to replace Redgar but also to rebuild the whole squad. Sayf departed to join Vitality at the end of September, while Dmitriy “dimasick” Matvienko and Dom “soulcas” Sulcas were the first to leave following VALORANT Champions.
NAts, Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen, and substitute Nico “Harmii” Harms are the only players left in Liquid’s VALORANT roster at the moment.
