Lack Of AWPer Bites Cloud9 Once Again – Katowice Run Ended Short

The CIS “superteam” continues their string of poor results. The AWP-less roster was upset by Monte, who sent them packing from the million-dollar tournament.

One of the most storied organizations in North American esports history, Cloud9, signed the most prominent names the Eastern European region had to offer in hopes of building one of the greatest Counter-Strike rosters in the world. 

However, the roster has not achieved results or even made deep runs in any tournament. The failures of this roster continued in IEM Katowice 2024 after losing to MOUZ and Monte in the Group Stage.

Early Signs In The Play-ins

Unlike the other top teams worldwide, Cloud9 had to start their IEM Katowice journey through the Play-in stage. In their first match, Cloud9 faced Rebels Gaming, a no-named Polish squad that was only invited for their nationality. 

To the entire community’s surprise, Cloud9 dropped the ball and lost 10-13 to the Rebels on Mirage. Still, this series was a Best of 1, and everyone understood the volatility of these types of matches. 

Fortunately, Cloud9 polished their gameplay, fighting through the BetBoom Team and Virtus.Pro in the lower bracket to qualify for the Group Stage. Still, these matches were not clean wins, and the roster’s form was questioned. 

Close Loss To MOUZ

Cloud9’s first match in the Group Stage was against MOUZ, ranked fifth in the world, and by no means are any pushovers. The two teams traded their map picks, bringing the series to a decisive third map on Ancient.

The two teams could not be separated, finishing 6-6 on both halves to bring the game into overtime. The game’s intensity continued, as the map required three overtimes to decide a winner. Cloud9 took the first two rounds in the third overtime but lost four in a row to concede the series after a 20-22 defeat in Game 3. 

Failure Continues In Monte Series

The result against MOUZ meant Cloud9 was sent to the Lower Bracket to play against Monte, a top-ten team that hasn’t played LAN tournaments in months. Though the world rankings between the two teams were only one off, Cloud9 was still the favorite to win the series against Monte. 

The Russian squad began their map pick of Overpass with a 4-0 start on the Terrorist side but lost their footing and conceded eight rounds in a row to end the half 4-8. Cloud9’s CT side didn’t look too shabby but was not sufficient to get the win. The map ended 13-11 in Monte’s favor. 

In the second map, Mirage, Cloud9 converted a 6-0 start to an 8-4 lead in the first half on their CT side in this elimination series. Things continued to look good, as they won the second pistol round as well. However, disaster struck, and Cloud9 could only post two rounds after being up 9-4.

Monte made a comeback on their CT side, taking the map 13-11 after a standout performance from their AWPer, Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletnjuk, who posed an impressive 1.45 rating throughout the series. 

Our run at #IEM Katowice comes to an end 😔

We appreciate your support and will be back in action at PGL Major Copenhagen RMR 💙 pic.twitter.com/JBiw2NBrQB

— Cloud9 CS (@C9CSGO) February 5, 2024

Time To Get An AWPer?

Fans wonder how the series would turn out if Cloud9 had a dedicated AWPer who could go toe-to-toe with Woro2k, who was dominating the server with the “Big Green”. 

Meanwhile, Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov, Cloud9’s former AWPer who moved to Team Spirit has already qualified for the Playoffs of IEM Katowice.