When talking about the Esports scene in North America, Cloud9 is a name that cannot be overlooked. With multiple teams in games like League of Legends, Fortnite, and Smash, Cloud9 is one of the most renowned Esports organizations in the world, both regionally and globally. In the game CS:GO, Cloud9 has left an unforgettable mark in the hearts of fans with their emotional victory at the Eleague Boston Major 2018 on home soil, which remains North America’s first and only Major title to date.
However, every fairytale must come to an end; after the departure of two key players, Stewie2k and tarik, Cloud9 has entered a real crisis over the past two years. Numerous names have come and gone, but none have been able to revive the organization. By September 2020, Cloud9 caused a stir in the CS:GO community by completely rebuilding their CS:GO roster, announcing several million-dollar deals for some of the hottest names on the transfer market: Özgür “woxic” Eker ($1,365,000), Alex ‘ALEX’ McMeekin ($1,650,000), and Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen ($2,100,000). Along with two promising names, floppy and mezii, many fans placed their trust in this million-dollar lineup to reclaim their former glory and once again elevate Cloud9 to a top team in the world.
However, with more hope comes more disappointment; since the formation of the team, they have yet to achieve any significant results despite being invited to many prestigious tournaments such as Blast Premier: Fall 2020 Showdown, DreamHack Masters Winter 2020, and IEM Katowice 2021. Additionally, just three months into competition, main AWP-er Woxic announced his departure from the team. According to HenryG, the manager of Cloud9’s CS:GO team, high ping, instability, and playing across time zones significantly affected Woxic’s mentality and were the main reasons for his exit. Most recently, last night, Cloud9 suffered a bitter 1-2 defeat to Voyvoda, a stack of FPL Bulgaria players in the closed qualifier for DreamHack Masters Spring.
This defeat was the last straw that led fans to seriously question Cloud9’s actual capabilities, especially following HenryG’s somewhat overly confident statements about the team’s goals. While possessing a potentially strong lineup with outstanding individuals, Cloud9 has been playing extremely disjointedly and lacking cohesion, while ALEX’s strategies as IGL have not been effective. Star player es3tag, after having to transition to the main AWP-er role, has performed only adequately and has not left a significant mark. With too many weaknesses, it is no surprise that Cloud9’s results have been so disappointing.
However, it must be said that Cloud9’s current roster has only been playing together for six months and they recently underwent personnel changes. Members like mezii, floppy, and xeppaa are still quite young and have potential; along with the experience of ALEX and es3tag, Cloud9 could definitely become a stable team within the top 20 on HLTV. However, to aim for a higher ranking, they will need comprehensive changes, such as finding a true AWP-er to free es3tag from this unsuitable position. Cloud9 could also learn from the six-player model that teams like Astralis, Na`vi, or Vitality have implemented to increase flexibility in their playstyle and become harder to read.
The next tournament Cloud9 will participate in is ESL Pro League Season 13, where they will compete in Group C alongside formidable names like Na`vi, FURIA, and Gambit. These are all tough opponents, and Cloud9 members will need to work hard for a top 3 position to secure a spot in the Play-in round.
The current roster of Cloud9 is:
Ricky “floppy” Kemery.
Alex “ALEX” McMeekin.
William “mezii” Merriman.
Patrick “es3tag” Hansen.
Erick “Xeppaa” Bach.