- The pro VALORANT player has apparently practiced with Version1’s roster
- WARDELL might be a substitute for Russian player Maxim “wippie” Shepelev
- So far there has not been any official statement from the organization or the player
Sources have indicated that popular VALORANT pro-Matthew “WARDELL” Yu has recently trained with Version1’s team.
WARDELL Practices with Version1
Roster changes and restructuring in the middle of a competitive season are not too uncommon when it comes to esports teams. This applies to VALORANT teams, some of which, like 100 Thieves, have become somewhat infamous for reworking their roster for the second time this year.
However, other organizations are looking for new players as well, albeit perhaps not looking to change the whole team. One of these is North American organization Version1 which, if rumors are to be believed, has recently trained with former TSM VALORANT player Matthew “WARDELL” Yu.
Multiple sources have told Dot Esports that WARDELL recently practiced with Version1’s team while Russian player Maxim “wippie” Shepelev was absent. WARDELL will likely be a temporary substitute as wippie might have travel difficulties. The latter’s problems might be caused by the war in Ukraine, as many travel agencies have stopped flights to and from Russia.
Wippie is not even the only Russian VALORANT player having trouble due to the difficult situation between Russia and Ukraine. Recently Fnatic suspended Andrey “BraveAF” Gorchakov from their VALORANT team because of some leaked controversial statements made by the player about the war.
What Could This Entail?
It should come to no one’s surprise that Version1 is eyeing up WARDELL, as he is one of the world’s most popular VALORANT players. What’s more, WARDELL recently parted ways with TSM FTX’s VALORANT team, so he is a free agent, making any potential future contracts easier to make.
However, nothing seems to be set in stone yet. WARDELL wrote on Instagram recently that the future for him is undecided. “I could play pro, but I’m more focused on working out and streaming now,” he wrote. “I’m feeling “free” as a content creator. I don’t produce much content though.”
Ever since WARDELL left TSM in late March, he has received multiple offers from the likes of 100 Thieves. Version1 might need a powerful player like WARDELL, however, as the team failed to qualify for VCT Masters in March after they lost to Cloud9 and Luminosity in NA VCT Stage One Challengers. However, at the time of the writing of this article, there has been no official statement about a contract between WARDELL and Version1.
