Background
Cloud 9 has seen great success in the LCS since its entrance in 2013, and Hai has played a crucial role in their achievements. Many consider him to be one of the best strategic minds in League of Legends. While others relied on mechanics, Hai used strategy to win games. One of his greatest shot calling moments was in game 2 against Samsung Blue in Season 4 Worlds. Despite being behind in gold and kills, Hai attempted a sneaky move to take down the inhibidor in Samsung’s bottom lane. This decision could have given his team the opportunity to make a comeback against one of the best teams in the world at the time. Hai’s decision making made the team greater than the sum of their individual abilities. Despite Meteos and Sneaky being considered the star players of Cloud 9 after Season 3, Hai’s shot calling helped make Cloud 9 a power house in the NA LoL scene.
The Summer of 2015
During the summer of 2015, critics believed that Hai was the problem within Cloud 9. They believed that his shot calling was no longer enough, and that he couldn’t keep up with the best mid laners in North America. Incarnati0n from Europe was brought in to replace Hai. The new lineup consisted of Balls, Meteos, Incarnati0n, Sneaky, and LemonNation. However, despite replacing their weakest player, the team still struggled. The issue was that there were other weak links and no one to bring the team together. A few weeks before the end of the season, Hai replaced Meteos in the jungle and led the team on a gauntlet run that brought them to worlds.
The off-season & Spring of 2016
Hai’s performance at Worlds showed that he couldn’t be the permanent solution for Cloud 9. He had suffered from wrist injuries in the past and had even had a collapsed lung before MSI in 2014. The team brought in Rush and Bunny Fufuu, with Hai transitioning to support and LemonNation taking on a coaching role. While Cloud 9 had upgraded their roster, they still struggled to win without Hai. The team finished in a respectable 3rd place in the regular season but lost to Team SoloMid in the playoffs. It was a disappointing finish for Cloud 9.
Going into Summer 2016
Hai has now been moved to Cloud 9’s Challenger team. This doesn’t mean he is done playing under the C9 brand, but it seems like he is on his way out of the LCS team. Cloud 9 has made changes to their roster, bringing in Impact to replace Balls, and starting Meteos over Rush, with Bunny Fufuu as support. They have also added Bubbadub as a coach and brought on Reapered and Kubz. With no weak spots on their roster, this team has the potential to succeed next split. They may face initial struggles as Meteos adjusts to LAN play again, but given the Bo3 format in playoffs, Cloud 9 should have a successful season and potentially make it back to worlds. Reapered and Kubz’s coaching abilities will help the team with their macro strategy. This iteration of Cloud 9 does not necessarily need a leader like Hai to be successful, and they have the potential to win NA.
related keywords: Cloud 9, Hai, League of Legends, LCS, shot calling, strategy, success, Summer of 2015, Incarnati0n, Worlds, off-season, Spring of 2016, Rush, Bunny Fufuu, Cloud 9 Challenger, Impact, Meteos, Bubbadub, Reapered, Kubz, NA.