Cloud9 is in the process of adding Version1’s IGL Anthony “vanity” Malaspina to its Cloud9 Blue VALORANT roster, according to a joint report from Upcomer and RushBMedia. This reported move would reunite him with some of his former teammates from the disbanded Chaos Esports Club CS:GO roster.
With the reported acquisition, C9 Blue would have a total of seven active VALORANT players on the roster. But the expected plan is for former C9 CS:GO player Ricky “floppy” Kemery to step back from the active roster. Upcomer and RushBMedia’s reports say that this deal is expected to be completed soon.
The Version1 roster was formed on Feb. 9 with a mix of already established VALORANT pros and CS:GO players who had recently switched over. Vanity had just transitioned to VALORANT permanently a month prior after Chaos E.C. stepped back from CS:GO and released its roster. V1 qualified for the NA VCT Stage Two Challengers Finals, where they went on an impressive lower bracket run with wins over Andbox, NRG, Envy, and, fittingly, C9 Blue to secure a spot at Masters Two Berlin, VALORANT‘s first international LAN. There, they stunned European favorites Team Liquid before losing to NUTURN and Fnatic to earn a top-six placing and 200 VCT points.
With those points, the Version1 team have secured a spot in the VCT Champions Last Chance Qualifier for North America. C9 Blue, on the other hand, don’t have a Last Chance Qualifier spot. If both TSM and Rise earn 50 or more points at the NA Stage Three Challengers Playoffs, and if NA doesn’t win Masters Three, they may not make the Last Chance Qualifier at all. Both C9 Blue and Version1 failed to reach the NA Challengers Playoffs.
