The Journey of Cloud9 VALORANT: Building a Superteam to Facing Challenges and Seeking Success
In October 2022, Cloud9 VALORANT embarked on a new adventure, securing a partnership with Riot Games for one of the 10 VCT Americas slots. This marked the beginning of what seemed to be a promising chapter for the team. C9 introduced their “heavy hitters” 2023 VALORANT program, which included star players Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker and Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, along with new head coach Matthew “mCe” Elmore. Expectations were high, with the team being considered a superteam and projected as strong contenders for both regional dominance and Champions 2023.
However, challenges arose despite their initial strength. In an interview with , coach mCe highlighted the importance of comfort and team systems. The ability to have players who are comfortable with specific agents and proficient in the meta can greatly enhance a team’s performance.
After just four months and two preseason LAN events, this new regime faced an abrupt end. C9 mutually parted ways with yay following their loss to DRX in the second round of VCT LOCK//IN. Soon after, the team announced the departure of their long-time in-game leader, Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, despite some team members expressing a desire for him to stay.
C9 provided little explanation for dropping vanity, leaving fans and the VCT community skeptical. C9 owner Jack Etienne and coach mCe, in a video, alluded to role changes and overlap being the main reasons for yay’s release. However, doubts remained.
Coach mCe emphasized that C9’s decisions were made with a long-term view in mind. The team faced challenges in adapting to the evolving meta due to conflicting agent roles. mCe believed that optimizing player comfortability and finding the right roles for each player were key to their success. He highlighted how leaf, for example, excelled in the duelist role, and finding the perfect fit was crucial.
MCe also pointed out that C9 hadn’t adequately addressed the gap left by Son “xeta” Seon-ho’s departure. The team had been lacking a scan initiator since xeta’s exit in May 2022, and filling that role had been a struggle.
Earlier this week, C9 announced the signings of two relatively unknown players, Jake “jakee” Anderson and Dylan “runi” Cade. With jakee on the controller role and runi playing as Sova and Fade, the team hopes to find the right synergy with these additions.
Heading into VCT Americas play, C9 may not be considered a top contender by many. However, mCe remains optimistic. He believes that as long as their core players perform at their usual high level, and the new recruits integrate well, the team can still achieve great things.
C9 will face Evil Geniuses in week one of the VCT Americas split on Sunday, April 2, at 5pm CT.
Related Cloud9 VALORANT, Superteam, VCT Americas, Challenges, Role Changes, Evolving Meta, Team Synergy