Another opportunity missed by Cloud9

Cloud9’s new CS2 roster is practically Russian and it’s made up of very strong players. Two of them, Perfecto and electroNic, come from Natus Vincere, and have won numerous trophies together. They’ve also had the opportunity to learn directly from s1mple for years before leaving the organization.

The other three C9 members have been playing together for a long time and some of them finished 2022 in the top 5 at the individual level. Sh1ro (3^rd in 2022) is absolutely phenomenal and can easily lead his team to numerous victories if the strategy is sound. But that’s exactly what seems to be missing at the moment.

Recent results

Cloud9’s players have so much potential, but if you look at the team’s results, it’s hard to not be disappointed. At BLAST Premier Fall Showdown Europe, C9 managed to win, defeating opponents like Movistar Riders, G2 Esports, and BIG in the process. Then they went to IEM Sydney and messed up against a team that shouldn’t be stronger than them.

Complexity have EliGE, who is indeed one of the most experienced and valuable players in North America. But the rest of the crew is not at electroNic’s or at sh1ro’s level. So it’s hard to find excuses.

This defeat came after another one, against Fnatic. This once-Swedish team is now using an international roster. From the old guard, only KRIMZ is left. But he’s doing a phenomenal job.

In this best-of-one match, Cloud9 came close to winning and ultimately lost 13-10, which is not a bad score. What’s worrying, however, is that their best player was HObbit instead of sh1ro or electroNic. And Ax1Le played so poorly that you’d be excused to think he is the team’s coach, who decided to stand in for a match.

The numbers speak for themselves: 9 K – 18 D, and a rating 2.0 of 0.59. Meanwhile, HObbit’s was 1.53.

Thank you for your support 💙

We need more time to adjust to CS2 pic.twitter.com/V2Z4rB4UaC

— Cloud9 CS (@C9CSGO) October 18, 2023

What needs to change

Given the fact that the roster wasn’t changed that long ago, it’s fair to say that the players may need until the start of the 2024 season to practice together and develop a strategy that works well against every opponent. Counter-Strike 2 is also quite new, and that makes the ideal of consistency even harder to attain.

But if the situation continues and we get to the Spring of 2024, C9 may need to consider making some roster changes again.

Header: Cloud9