The VCL roster cull has begun with Shopify Rebellion, with the organization dropping three players after a series of underwhelming results. VALORANT stars Anthony “vanity” Malaspina and Brandon “bdog” Sanders and assistant coach Travis “tdawgg” Regan have been released this week after a last-place finish at the North American event.
Shopify struggled at the NA VALORANT Challenger’s League but still managed to secure a spot for next year’s VCL NA tournament. The squad fell at the hands of M80 and G2, placing 7-8th alongside TSM.
Ex-Cloud9 IGL vanity had a rough few months on the roster. The American Skye-main took the reins of the squad in March 2023, only to be removed nearly three months later. Bdog’s departure alongside the veteran follows a year-long stint on Shopify.
Vanity was introduced into the lineup at the beginning of the NA VCL’s second split. However, Shopify’s second split endeavor saw the VALORANT squad run fifth, above some of the teams who would eventually take them down in later stages.
Shopify was demolished by the number one NA roster, M80. Their clash saw Shopify immediately sent to the lower bracket via a 2-0 loss to the Canadian roster. Their last-chance matchup against G2 almost saw Shopify claw their way back into contention, but G2’s Ascent proved difficult to overcome and Shopify collapsed at the final hurdle; the 13-2 Ascent scoreline was clearly too much for the squad to handle.
The three ex-Shopify players are now on the lookout for other teams. Vanity’s resume of top-tier squads might give the IGL another shot at the big leagues, but whether he can replicate his prior form on the Cloud9 roster is up in the air.
