Former NRG Valorant coach helped pay massive buyout for Ethan and Demon1

Former NRG Esports Valorant head coach Chet ‘Chet’ Singh claimed on a Twitch stream that he contributed “five figures” toward the buyouts for Ethan ‘Ethan’ Arnold and Max ‘Demon1’ Mazanov.

The 2023-23 VCT offseason was long for NRG as the team had to negotiate with and wait on Evil Geniuses for Ethan and Demon1 following their Valorant Champions win. Due to the prolonged discussions, NRG was among the last teams to announce its 2024 VCT Americas roster.

In a stream following his release from the team, Chet explained that EG delayed the transfers and that he contributed his own money toward both players’ buyouts.

“I gave up a little bit of money to pay for Ethan and Demon1’s buyout… The fact that [NRG] didn’t keep me in the loop more often towards the end is kind of f***ed up. But it is what it is… It wasn’t a lot of money but I gave a little bit… It was like a low five figures,” Chet said on his stream.

Coaches contributing money toward player buyouts is uncommon, as organizations usually pay the full amount. Evil Geniuses were in a unique position during the 2023-24 off-season, however, as the organization heavily downsized and was looking to get as much as possible for its world championship roster.

So, EG reportedly locked down its players during the transfer period and put a hefty price on their buyouts. The organization also reportedly rejected a $100,000 buyout for Ethan and Demon from NRG during the off-season before NRG eventually signed the two players.

Despite putting together what looked like a super team on paper with Demon1 and Ethan alongside Austin ‘crashies’ Roberts, Victor, ‘Victor’ Wong, and Jimmy ‘Marved’ Nguyen, NRG failed to do much in VCT Americas this year.

The squad was one match away from qualifying for Masters Madrid, missed VCT Americas split 1 playoffs, and then shuffled their roster for a late push for Valorant Champions qualification.

However, the addition of Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta and Sam ‘s0m’ Oh in place of Demon1 and Marved did not bear much fruit. The squad again missed the playoff stage, ending their season in July.

NRG Esports are now looking to rebuild their Valorant roster following the disappointing season, dropping Chet and Victor on July 15. The organization will have another long off-season on its hands as the 2025 season is expected to start in February.