Vanity joins Shopify Rebellion

One of the players who paid the price for Cloud9’s early elimination at VCT LOCK//IN Sao Paulo 2023, Anthony “Vanity” Masapina, joins Shopify Rebellion to play in the NA Challengers League.

Undoubtedly, this is not a destination a player of Vanity’s quality would want to have right now. However, staying active at a time when no other VCT franchise organization will be making any signings is ideal for one of the best IGLs on the North American VALORANT scene.

Vanity teams up with Shopify Rebellion to play the NACL

North American esports organization Shopify Rebellion announced the signing of Anthony “Vanity” Masapina as IGL for their VALORANT lineup in place of Will “dazzLe” Loafman.

As we mentioned, after the disastrous results obtained by Cloud9 at VCT LOCK//IN Sao Paulo 2023, C9 decided to make two radical changes to their lineup. Undoubtedly, no one expected these changes to be Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker and Vanity, as both are experienced players and among the best in the scene.

In addition, Vanity had been C9’s IGL for the past two years, so the announcement resonated that much more. Specifically, the 24-year-old had been playing for C9 since August 13, 2021, when he arrived from Version1. Then, Vanity led C9 towards the VCT Champions Playoffs that same year, showing great leadership skills in the team.

The departure of yay and Vanity from the C9 lineup was a big surprise even to the players. As mentioned, most of the VCT teams had already confirmed their rosters for the regional leagues, so their futures were uncertain.

Future of Shopify Rebellion

The organization hopes that adding Vanity will straighten things out for their VALORANT team, as Shopify is coming off a truly disastrous VALORANT Challengers 2023: North America Split 1 for the organization.

In Split 1, the team was the favorite to win, but their performance was not as expected, and they finished in last place in their group with a 1-4 record. Now, with the departure of dazzLe and the arrival of Vanity, Shopify expects the team to have a better showing in Split 2.

In addition to Vanity, the organization has also announced the signing of Travis “tdawgg” Regan as an assistant coach.

Shopify’s official statement highlights that the team failed to meet the expectations and level set before the first Split started. On the other hand, they also point out that they are not pointing the finger of blame at any of their players, as according to the organization, they all take responsibility for what happened.

The Mid-Season Face-Off of the NACL is underway, which will give the team a chance to adjust as well as possible before Split 2.

Header: Riot Games