Sources: Version1 playing with Thief as temporary stand-in

Former Luminosity Gaming player Brady “thief” Dever is set to compete with Version1’s VALORANT team in place of Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro on a temporary basis, sources told Upcomer June 24.

Thief steps into Zellsis’ spot on Version1

Thief will play with the squad for the upcoming North American VALORANT Championship Tour Stage 3 qualifier. Version1 is in the second seed of the tournament, which is set to begin on July 1. 

Thief will retain Zellsis’ role in the side, according to one source.

It’s likely that Zellsis will return to the starting lineup once his suspension has been lifted. The North American player is currently serving a temporary suspension from competing in VALORANT events following an incident at VCT Stage 2 Masters. 

Zellsis’ suspension

Zellsis received a temporary suspension for an “inappropriate remark” made to a Riot Games official. Riot has yet to reveal the nature of this remark to the public or the press at the time of publication. 

Thief has been on the inactive roster of Luminosity Gaming since his last event with the team in April. He played for Luminosity during the VCT North America Stage 1 Masters tournament in March, most notably. Luminosity, considered one of the top teams at the event, finished in the top-six following a defeat to Team Envy. 

Thief, alongside the rest of Luminosity Gaming, had an impressive start to the year. At the Nerd Street Gamers Winter Championship in January, Luminosity took down Sentinels in the grand final 3-2 after defeating Equinox and NRG Esports. 

Version1, on the other hand, has solidified themselves as the second best team in North America. Sitting just behind Sentinels, Version1 earned a spot at VCT Stage 2 Masters in Reykjavík, Iceland. The first international event didn’t disappoint, with Sentinels finishing in first place while Version1 placed inside of the top six. Fnatic and Team Liquid, both representing Europe, finished inside of the top four. 

Version1 will field the following roster for the VCT Stage 3 qualifier:

• Thief
• Anthony “vanity” Malaspina
• Loic “effys” Sauvageau
• Erik “penny” Penny
• Maxim “wippie” Shepelev
• Zellsis (suspended)