Superteam falls apart: Cloud9 Valorant and yay part ways
On Friday, DotEsports reporter Max Katz reported that Cloud9 would likely make roster changes after the loss against Cloud9. A name in the mix was the best player of 2022, Jacob "yay" Whiteaker. A lot of rumors started surrounding the Cloud9 situation with no confirmation. A while ago, George Geddes, one of the most trusted sources in the Valorant scene, confirmed Cloud9 parting ways with their star.
The Rise and Fall of Cloud9 Valorant 2023:
After a silent 2022, Cloud9 Valorant narrowly secured a Valorant partnership. With the opportunity, Cloud9 retained only three members in Leaf, Xeppa, and Vanity. In the rostermania, Cloud9 picked up The Guard coach Mathew "mCe" Elmore, V1 star Jordan "zellsis" Montemurro, and Yay. The team, on paper, was in contention to become the best team in Valorant history.
In their first expedition at the Red Bull Homeground, Cloud9 ran for the finals but fell to 100 thieves. The loss to 100 Thieves instilled a lot of doubts about the roster. Still coming into the VCT LOCK//IN, Cloud9 was rated highly. Especially after their dominant win against Paper Rex, Cloud9 seemed to be on top of the world.
Despite the opponent being DRX, a significant part of the community had Cloud9 winning the series. Cloud9 did start strong and dominated DRX on Pearl but fell flat on the next two maps to lose the series 1-2. Icebox was especially painful as they lost the game 2-13.
After the loss, many people speculated yay not happy with the team. Max Katz also reported that Cloud9 might be going forward without Yay, and rumors started flowing. Today, George Geddes confirmed the move. Both yay and Cloud9 have mutually agreed to terminate the contract, making Yay a F/A.
Is Cloud9 making the right decision?
The roster move has sent ripples across the community. Yay has to be one of the most expensive buyouts of the 2022 offseason. And changing the roster after a loss seems a hasty decision from an Esports organization as old as Cloud9. The move is not a performance issue; neither party has confirmed the motive.
Cloud9 will be trailing new players starting next week. Marved will be one player on the list.
Image Source: NextGen Tech, LLC
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