Cloud9- From Heroes To Zeroes In Less Than Two Years

Cloud9, an American eSports organization that rose to the peak of prominence during its golden age. They started out first as a League Of Legends team, which soon evolved to many other games. From Dota 2, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Rainbow Six: Siege, to Counter-Strike Global Offensive. This team had their had in every cookie jar and was one of the most feared teams out there.

Jack Etienne’s vision came to life when he realized that a Counter-Strike team was necessary. He loved the type of popularity the game had, after EMS One: Katowice 2014, and he decided to make a team of his own. However, the best players at that time used to play for compLexity. Their team consisted of shroud, SEMPHIS, Hiko, n0thing, and sgares. On August 1st, 2014, they signed all five players, but soon after, in December, Hiko left. Shahzam joined the team, although not for long. On April 24th, Shahzam and SEMPHIS were released from the group.

The Rise Of Cloud9

The DreamHack Winter 2014 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship defined the legacy of Cloud9. Nothing remained the same after this competition. Soon after, on April 29th, 2015, Cloud9 sign Skadoodle and fREAKAZOiD. This marked the completion of the team as essentially it filled the gaps which Shahzam could not. The group started bonding much better, and the morale seemed on the up and up. The team now comprised of Shroud, n0thing, sgares, Skadoodle, and fREAKAZOiD. Finally, 2015 started to look much more promising for the Cloud9 team.

Shroud, who seemed almost cybernetically designed with his skills, was the offensive war machine. Nothing – the aggressive spearhead who lead the frontline. Supported by Skadoodle, who was more of a defensive sniper. Freakazoid, the surprise bolt from the blue and Sean Gares acted as the in game leader who held the entire team together. What seemed full of potential, soon tested to find out its true limit. This Cloud9 team had the potential to rule the CS scene all over. However, not all great things are destined for success.
The North American Counter-Strike scene was in shambles, and no teams ever made it to top. Cloud9 was great on paper, but were they ready for war?

Beginning Of Hardship For Cloud9

Their group stage exit at the Gfinity Spring Master (2015) made them realize that they are in desperate need of a strategy. They returned to base and started chalking it out. Although the roster, full of potential, they needed to fit in the broader picture. These were pro-gamers who needed to provide in together by assessing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They went into intensive training mode, where they played about 60 matches in 30 days, winning almost 90-95% of them. The ESL Pro League Finals was the actual test that Cloud9 had to face. This competition offered a spot only to the best of the best. What looked like an uphill battle, they soon turned into a cakewalk for Cloud9. They commanded the group stage and went on to deliver one of the most excellent matches in CS in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Then came the moment of truth, when they faced the undisputed best team in the world, fnatic. Dubbed as one of the greatest CS matches, this lived up to its promise. This match marked a turning point for their story, they lost to fnatic that day, but that did not make them give up.

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The Rise And Fall

The ESWC hosted in Montreal marked their second shot at stardom as they secured the Finalist spot. Although they gave a tough fight, it did not end well for them. Just a week later, they were again in finals, but this time for Face It Championship. Again, they made it to the top, already gaining popularity and momentum, this looked like their big break. Alas, it was not to be, three times, they reached the finals, and could only measure up a 2nd spot. Soon after, Sean, Shroud and Freakazoid and n0thing left. By the end of 2017, the old squad had broken apart, all except Skadoodle had left.

In 2018, Boston hosted a CSGO Major – Cloud9 fought FaZe Clan in the Grand Finals. That FaZe team was perhaps one of the best teams they ever had. Although Cloud9 had a new roster with autimatic, RUSH, Tarik, Stewie 2k, and of course, Skadoodle. Skadoodle was the only one from the old team, and it was poetic justice when he fired the winning bullet. Dubbed as the underdogs in the tournament, they rose up against all odds to claim the victory. It seemed like a long time wait finally fulfilled its course.

The Collapse Of Cloud9

The beginning of their fall began soon after as Cloud9 started to spiral down into an abyss. The team slowly started chipping away and it clearly showed that this team offered all that it could. No matter how strong they were on paper, it did not matter as the players lost their sense of purpose.

However, this marked the beginning of their end too as it all started collapsing after this tourney. Etienne said in an interview that he had to let the players follow their own path, suggesting that the team couldn’t bond well. Now all that’s left of Cloud9 is just a shadow of their former glory. Makes us reconsider the phrase ‘so close, yet so far’. 2020 saw Cloud9 slowly moving away from the Counter-Strike team as they players either decided to switch games or join different teams.