Rumors: Demon1 to replace leaf in G2 Esports

The top American team G2 Esports is currently experiencing difficulties with starting player Nathan “leaf” Orf, who is unable to participate in competitions due to health issues. That is why, according to rumors, the 2023 world champion Maximilian “ Demon1 ” Mazanov, who has been inactive in Leviatan for several months, will join the team.

Rumors about Demon1
This information was reported by insider RocketBullets on his official social media accounts. He stated that Demon1 's second account, called bookreader, now has an avatar with the G2 Esports logo, and that many matches have been played on the account in the Sentinels position, which is the position leaf played in.

The insider also reports that Demon1 will definitely join G2 and will participate in all training and official matches until leaf returns to the main roster.

We remind you that Maximilian “ Demon1 ” Mazanov became world champion with Evil Geniuses in 2023. After that, he moved to NRG, where he did not achieve significant results, and has now been inactive with Leviatan for three months.

leaf's injury
It should be noted that before the start of the recent Valorant Esports World Cup 2025, G2 representatives announced that Nathan “leaf” Orf had a wrist injury and would not be able to compete in the tournament. Read more about this in our article – G2 Esports to compete in Esports World Cup 2025 with a replacement in the lineup.

As a result, assistant coach Peter “shhhack” Belej played for the team at EWC 2025. But his results were not enough, and G2 left the tournament in one of the last 13-16 places.

G2's next match is scheduled for VCT Americas Stage 2 against Sentinels , which will begin in 3 days. Therefore, we will be able to follow the updated lineup and the performance of the world champion under the G2 Esports banner.