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It’s Time to End the Cloud9 Experiment

By Zack Jankelson

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Cloud9’s retooled roster continues to struggle in the new meta. It’s time for the North American stalwarts to go back to basics.

Earlier in June, Cloud9 announced a stunning roster shuffle that sent Jensen, Sneaky, and Smoothie down to the Academy circuit in favor of Goldenglue, Keith and Zeyzal.

Citing better scrim performances in the new meta with the latter roster combination, and later citing motivation and dedication issues, Reapered and Jack enacted the switch hoping to jump ahead of the new meta.

The move paid tremendous dividends for the Academy team, who currently holds sole possession of first place in the NAA league. Following a week one loss, the Academy team has performed flawlessly, leading themselves to a 6-1 record.

Cloud9’s performance in the LCS studio, however, is anything but gleaming. Marred by confusing drafts, poor execution with gold leads, and weak individual performances by the substitutes, C9 now rests alone in last place in the NALCS.

Both by measurable metrics and the eye test, the on-stage product has been flatly bad.

All statistical data provided courtesy of LoL Esports.

Bot Lane

Keith and Zeyzal have already “motivated” their way directly back to Academy with individually rancid performances. The veteran ADC’s effort in particular was particularly detrimental.

Thanks to consistently bad positioning and map awareness, Keith has the lowest kill participation total of all bot laners with four or more games played, and the second lowest of all players in the LCS at a paltry 54.5%.

At the end of week two, he also anchored all ADCs in kill total (6), assists (12), and fell in the bottom two on a variety of other categories.

Showing very little synergy, the bot lane found themselves benched in favor of Jensen and Smoothie prior to their week three tilts.

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After two games, Jensen has already surpassed Keith’s kill and assist totals.

Ineffective Gold Lead Management

Cloud9 has held a post-15 minute gold lead in all of their losses. In four out of five, that gold lead rested over 3.7k. In three of them, it was over 5.7k.

This can be attributed to poor compositions, a refusal to use strong funnel recipients (Cloud9 has banned or not chosen Kai’Sa when available in all five of their losses), and a lack of a capable hyper-carry to enable the funnel strategy to thrive.

From a spectator’s perspective, Cloud9’s late-game teamfighting is frustrating to watch. They have allowed funneled hyper carries to break their back game after game with no answer.

After being outmaneuvered by Clutch Gaming in a relatively standard contest, they surrendered 8/0/2 and 7/2/4 scorelines to Cody Sun and Deftly’s respective Kai’Sa picks, an 8/0/5 line to Zven’s Varus, and a 10/2/3 line to Altec’s Lucian.

Cloud9 simply has not scaled advantages in a way that leads to success in this meta. All but one of their losses have been significant throws, and they’re squandering their breaking points just as their opponents hit theirs.

The Solution

#FreeSneaky.

Cloud9 is missing the strategic edge that has defined them in the past. Goldenglue and Keith are journeymen of the LCS, but they do not bring with them a documented and consistent history of success.

Sneaky has been the one stalwart for a team that has otherwise been turned over at each position since its inception. He’s also one of the most mechanically gifted carries in the West, and has shown his ability to play within the current meta during his NAA stint.

To be clear, Goldenglue himself is not the problem. He is not a leader in any statistical measure, but hasn’t hamstrung the roster. Sneaky is a core element of the team’s identity, and a damn fine carry.

Next: Demonte Suspended from Competitive Play

Consistency and synergy are clearly missing within the C9 franchise. It’s time for them to eschew this experiment. Benching Keith and Zeyzal was a step forward, but this is still not a team capable of contending anytime soon. It’s worth a shot.

Besides, you can’t get any worse than last.

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