18th October 2022

Cloud9 unveils new roster

A few weeks ago, Riot Games unveiled the new format of Valorant competition. In the meantime, we learned that Cloud9 was part of the teams who will play in the VCT Americas next year, alongside Sentinels, 100 Thieves and LOUD. In order to be as competitive as possible, the structure has released a good part of its roster and has just recruited members with a strong potential: Zellsis and yay, as well as mCe as head coach.

So far, Cloud9 was a good team, but not the best in its region. In 2021, its roster made a top 2 in Challengers 2 of phase 2 then won the Last Chance Qualifier America, thus securing its place for the Valorant Champions.

Although the team did not make a splash in the final competition of the season, they did manage to get out of the group stage in second place. Unfortunately, the team was eliminated by Team Liquid in the quarter-finals, ending up with a top 5-8.

Despite the loss at Champions, the roster was not changed and Cloud9 started the 2022 season with a win at the Knights Arena Valorampage. They then signed a top 3 in the first Challengers America. However, the year did not go as planned, as the team did not qualify for any international events. The Challengers 2 ended on a top 9-10 and Last Chance Qualifier on a top 4.

However, as one of North America's most iconic teams, Cloud9 was chosen to play in the new VCT league in 2023. This time the roster had to be revised to compete with other teams like Sentinels and LOUD. Moreover, many players were available on the market, as many teams were not chosen by Riot Games to be in the VCT next year. Cloud9 therefore managed to get their hands on Zellsis and especially yay? OpTic Gaming's super star. mCe has also been recruited as head coach.

yay had an absolutely perfect 2022 season with OpTic Gaming and is considered one of the best players in the world today. His year was punctuated by a top 1 at the Reykjavik Masters, a top 3 at the Copenhagen Masters and a top 2 at the Champions. What more could you ask for?

Zellsis played a large part of the season with Version1, then was recruited by the Sentinels with whom he merely played the Last Chance Qualifier. However, the poor results led to his early dismissal.

mCe, the new head coach, was first the coach of the Gen.G in 2021, before joining The Guard for the 2022 season. His team won the first North American Challengers of the year and made top 2 at the Last Chance Qualifier.

Zellsis and yay will perform alongside leaf, Xeppaa and vanity. A team that promises to play well and that will undoubtedly be capable of winning at the highest level. We're already looking forward to it.