Shopify Rebellion drop two players from its VALORANT lineup

After disappointing results in the VALORANT Challengers League, Shopify Rebellion decided to drop three players to start a lineup renewal.

There is no doubt that this news was seen coming after the results obtained by the team so far in the 2023 season. However, many were surprised by the news that they decided to move on from Brandon “bdog” Sanders and Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, their two best players on the roster. Likewise, coming in last place in the VCL NA has consequences, and we already know the casualties.

Shopify Rebellion announces the departure of three members of the VALORANT staff

Through an announcement on their official Twitter account, the North American organization, Shopify Rebellion, announced that they were releasing vanity, bdog, and assistant coach Travis “tdawgg” Regan.

Thank you @bdog2916 @Vanityxz @tdawggVAL 💚 An update on Shopify Rebellion VALORANT Challengers roster pic.twitter.com/6qFRkJbuYp

— Shopify Rebellion (@ShopifyRebels) June 16, 2023

While Shopify Rebellion struggled mightily during the 2023 VALORANT Challengers League NA season, they managed to maintain their status. The team qualified for the Split 2 playoffs after finishing the regular season in fifth place in the standings. However, in the playoffs, they faced M80 in the Upper Bracket and lost 0-2, while G2 Esports then eliminated them in the Lower Bracket after losing 1-2.

Vanity’s VCL adventure lasts three months

After vanity departed from Cloud9 in March 2023, the veteran decided to join Shopify Rebellion to play in the VCL NA. However, his adventure lasted only three months, as the organization terminated him. On the other hand, Bdog was with Shopify Rebellion for a year, so it is a somewhat more complex departure.

As mentioned, Vanity signed with Shopify Rebellion at the start of Split 2 of the VCL NA and led the team to qualify for the playoffs after finishing the regular season in fifth place. However, they fell to M80 and G2 Esports to be eliminated from the playoffs.

In the match against M80, there was not much to do, as this is the best team in the Challengers scene in NA. Shopify Rebellion tried to pull off a surprise on the first map (Ascent), but they lost 9-13. Then, on Pearl, M80 completed their clean sweep with a 13-2 thrashing.

As a result, the team had to play for their lives in the Lower Bracket against G2 Esports, which in turn lost to Oxygen Esports by 0-2. In this series, Shopify Rebellion was close to taking the victory and staying alive in the playoffs, as they won the first map (Bind) by 13-7. However, they then fell on Split (10-13) and Ascent (3-13) to be eliminated from the tournament.

Future of the players

Now, the two former Shopify players and assistant coach are looking for a new home heading into the year’s second half. There is no doubt that Vanity has the best resume of them, having played in the top tier of the VCT recently. However, vanity announced that he is open to hearing options from any VALORANT and Counter-Strike teams.

While Bdog and tdawgg are searching for a new home and are open to any possibility.

Header: Shopify Rebellion