Cloud9 announces departure of In-Game Leader vanity
Cloud9 VALORANT just announced the departure of In-Game Leader Anthony “vanity” Malaspina following a fairly dismal season for the historic organization. Despite rebuilding around electrifying talent and former G2 Esports Francis “OXY” Hoang, the roster failed to qualify for a single international event all season long.
-vanity +vanity -vanity
Cloud9 cited the reason for the splitting of ways comes from a desire to ‘move in a different direction’ and has confirmed that vanity will be free to explore without any buyout amount (categorized as an unrestricted free agent). This also marks the second time vanity has been benched from a Cloud9 roster, following his exit from the organization back in 2023 and subsequent rejoining in September that same year.
Departure after a resultless season
Despite Cloud9’s potential within the VCT Americas league, the biggest criticism for the squad lies in their supposed overreliance on OXY’s fragging potential to deliver series wins for them. If the 19-year-old phenom delivers, and he does almost every time, then Cloud9 has a horse in the race.
Unfortunately, when faced against teams experienced at shutting down individual superstar-driven teams, Cloud9 struggled to find an answer. This can be seen in their mid-board placements throughout 2024. Even discounting Kickoff results, Stage 1 saw the team finish 5-1 in the regular season, nearly topping Group A, only to lose in the Knockout round to none other than eventual finalist G2 Esports.
5-1 in Stage 1. 1-3 in Stage 2. Cloud9 VALORANT 2024, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. Credit: Tina Jo/Riot GamesIn Stage 2, Cloud9 had a dismal 1-3 score, putting them at the bottom of Group Alpha. That said, because of their Stage 1 results, they still qualified for Playoffs - only to lose to KRU in the Knockout round once again.
Cloud9 2024 Current Roster:
- Erick “Xeppaa” Bach
- Francis “OXY” Hoang
- Kaleb “moose” Jayne
- Dylan “runi” Cade
- Ian “Immi” Harding (Head Coach)
- Guglielmo “GUGLi” Carraro (Assistant Coach)
Due to vanity’s role as IGL within the Cloud9 roster, the team will have a few critical decisions to make going forwards. Runi currently performs as secondary caller for the team. He also served as the IGL for the roster in 2023. Hence, we may see his return to the role full time. Otherwise, a new IGL would most likely be targeted from the Tier 2 Challenger Leagues.
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Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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