Cloud9 signs ATK roster
The North American organization has confirmed the pickup of the surprise package from the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. A move which was considered to be a downgrade in ambition by many serves as another unexpected step in the story of the juggernaut with successful teams across multiple esports titles who failed to capitalize on their win at the ELEAGUE Boston Major in 2018.
It was the worst of times
Despite the initial hype, not much came of daps' latest project on Cloud9, widely believed to be a competitive prospect off the back of his removal from the then-NRG side. The team's results were so poor that they were facing elimination from the Pro League, something which they've apparently resolved by purchasing a roster which made it to the finals, upsetting North and G2 during their lower bracket run.
As impressive as that feat was, the ex-ATK roster has not managed to pull off any other meaningful performance to date, leaving observers question Cloud9's decision to pick them up and whether they still intend to compete for top spots in Counter-Strike. Per Ryan Friend, Rush B Media's _, C9 also plans to acquire ATK's Pro League slot in order to avoid having to play the relegation matches.
The team's coach has gone on record praising the move, saying they're "very grateful for the opportunity. I think it came at the perfect timing to provide us with more resources to continue our growth and to strive for new heights. Our team is still very young and 'm very excited to see how far we can go with the support Cloud9 can offer".
That's an open question for sure.
The new Cloud9 roster reads as such:
- Johnny "JT" Theodosiou
- Ian "motm" Hardy
- Ricky "floppy" Kemery
- Josh "oSee" Ohm
- Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek
- Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen (coach)
The org also still has TenZ and mixwell on the books as inactive players, though the latter has confirmed back in December that he's been allowed by Cloud9 to seek other options. Cloud9's former CS:GO coach has also announced that he's voluntarily stepping down in order to "pursue an opportunity outside of esports".
Photo credit: HLTV
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