With rumors circulating the internet and teases from the Cloud9 organization, it’s clear that C9 wants to do another roster change in their CSGO team. However, differently than past moves, this change might be what turn the tides for them.
Reportedly, Cloud9 is in talks with Damian “daps” Steele, ex NRG in-game leader, and Tyson “TenZ” Ngo. While adding TenZ, a young and promising player, possible addition of daps is what is causing all the fuss.
After all, since August last year, Golden, the actual captain, faced a lot of troubles leading this team.
Cloud9 struggles after the Major
It’s clear that Cloud9 downfall started shortly after their win at ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018. A couple weeks after winning the event, ‘Stewie2K’ announced his exit, causing a lot of troubles for the team.
Back then, Cloud9 took Stewie2K exit as an opportunity to add a seasoned captain. Enter Pujan “FNS” Mehta. FNS had a short time with Cloud9, and according to himself, he wasn’t able to create any system with the team.
Anyway, Cloud9 was heading to rock bottom quickly. After numerous stand-ins and ‘Tarik’ leaving the organization, Cloud9 announced the signing of ‘Golden’. The Swedish in-game leader had a great period with Fnatic earlier that year, and it was promising.
However, Golden joining Cloud9 didn’t bring any major success for the squad. The Swedish player skipped a couple of events before going inactive due to health issues. In that time, flusha took the captain role, but he didn’t have an interest in the role.
So, after the first Major of 2019, Cloud9 announced more changes. Flusha went inactive, Golden returned, vice was added to the roster in a trial, kioshima left the team and cajunB was added.
However, even with Golden back, results didn’t get any better. Cloud9 finished last at BLAST Pro Series Miami, DreamHack Open Dallas, second-to-last in BLAST Madrid and most importantly, they failed to qualify for the upcoming Major.
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Golden issues
Golden initial time with Cloud9 was more than turbulent. Having health issues preventing him to attend events certainly impact the then promising team. Once he was back though, fans saw a much less exciting leading style in the team.
Of course, this lack of faith in the Swede ended being correct. Golden’s system has been extremely barebones compared to almost every team in the top 30. Moreover, the community noticed at first glance that teamwork and community clearly weren’t working.
This was again, proven to be true in the closed qualifiers for the upcoming Major. There, C9 lost to the likes of The Quest and New Identity, teams not even amongst the top 30 in the world.
Overall, Golden still is a promising leader, but after so many issues, he needs to regain his confidence. Returning to Sweden and teaming with one of the up and coming teams might be the ideal scenario for him now.
Why daps?
Now with Golden’s situation explained, it’s time to look at daps, the rumoured new addition to Cloud9. Most recently, daps helped NRG do their breakthrough last year and led them to the top 10 in the world rankings. He definitely has a strong resume to show up.
Daps career goes beyond that, though. Playing at a professional level for years now, he also was the man behind OpTic’s first Major qualification back in 2016. So, daps definitely have experience in the scene.
Overall, the Canadian veteran is known for his deep strategy book and focus on smart plays. He knows how to use consistent performers better than flashy players, which might be a reason for his removal from NRG after all.
At the same time, this might be a reason for Cloud9 interest in him. After all, Cloud9 currently has ‘cajunB’ and ‘autimatic’ in their roster, two players that have star performances while playing a smart game.
It’s also noticeable how daps’ game plan was improved by having an experienced coach on his side back at NRG. Cloud9, fortunately, has ‘valens’ in their ranks, one of the best coaches in the world. Daps will certainly be in good company at Cloud9.
Is bringing TenZ a smart choice?
Albeit not generating as much fuss as daps, it’s clear that Cloud9 is interested in TenZ to replace vice. Vice, unfortunately, hasn’t performed at an acceptable level. Vice scored an underwhelming 0.91 rating across the last three months according to HLTV.
TenZ hasn’t half of the experience that the rest of the Cloud9 has. His most recent results have been under ATK, where he has been facing lower tier North American teams. He has been somewhat successful, but he clearly has some bad games.
Daps and valens are probably interested in him due to the fact that he still is young. If they can shape him as a star and bring his full potential, Cloud9 can have a much-needed firepower source.
He definitely needs to perform, though. Daps has been rated slightly higher than golden, but it’s a fact that he doesn’t bring high fragging capabilities. With RUSH not being as consistently good as he once were, Cloud9 definitely needs another fragger.
Still, considering which players are available right now, TenZ is not a bad pickup. Cloud9 so far didn’t have luck with newcomers as Zellsis and vice disappointed, but with a better atmosphere, this might be the youngster that will help them.
When we will be able to watch this Cloud9 iteration in action?
Although not confirmed, Cloud9 has been teasing those two additions in the past week. Moreover, the rumours also come from known reliable sources in CSGO scene.
So, after not qualifying for the Major and with daps final hurrah under NRG over, next week will be the perfect time for an announcement.
Then, Cloud9 will have the perfect opportunity to start this new iteration of their CSGO rosters shortly after. The NA squad will be attending to BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles on July 13th, and this should be the event that fans will be looking for.
