Cloud9
Cloud9 Esports Inc, or Cloud 9 as they are commonly referred to, is a professional eSports organization founded in 2013.
Cloud9 creates online eSports content for its social media platform and has divisions participating in major tournaments. Currently, the organization is based in Santa Monica, California.
Initially founded as a professional League of Legends team, the organization evolved into the entity it is known as today.
Currently, the organization has teams participating in Apex Legends, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Fortnite, League of Legends, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., Teamfight Tactics, Valorant, World of Warcraft, and CS:GO.
The organization has also won three international championships, including the 2018 Overwatch League. Cloud9 is among the most valuable eSports organizations in the world.
Cloud9 Overview
| Team Short Name | C9 |
| Games | Apex Legends, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Fortnite, League of Legends, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., Teamfight Tactics, Valorant, World of Warcraft, and CS:GO |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Location | Santa Monica, California, US |
| Owner | Jack Etienne (CEO) |
| Website | https://cloud9.gg/ |
| YouTube channel | https://www.youtube.com/cloud9 |
History
Cloud9, or C9 as it is often referred to at sporting events, was founded in the year 2013. This group originated after Quantic Gaming released their League of Legends players from their contracts.
The released player banded together and founded a team under the name ‘Team NomNom.’ The team was reacquired by Quantic Gaming in the month of April of the same year.
But in May 2013, the player’s contracts were purchased by Jack Etienne and Pauline Etienne, thus creating a separate Cloud9 entity.
After creating an independent organization, Cloud9 focused on expanding its roster in various other eSports games.
By the end of 2014, Cloud9 had divisions in Dota 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Hearthstone, CS: GO, Halo, and finally, Heroes of Storm. Other divisions were added in the following years, with the prominent ones being in Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Vainglory.
In May 2022, Forbes valued Cloud9 organization at $380 million, the fifth most valuable eSports organization.
Cloud9 Current Divisions
League of Legends
Current Roster
| ID | Name | Nationality | Head Coach |
| Fudge | Allami, Ibrahim | Australia | Max Alexander Waldo- |
| Blaber | Huang, Robert | US | |
| Jensen | Jensen, Nicolaj | Denmark | |
| Berserker | Min-cheol, Kim | South Korea | |
| Zven | Svennigsen, Jesper | Denmark | |
| Svenskeren | Johansen, Dennis | Denmark |
Apex Legends
Current Roster
| ID | Name | Nationality | Head Coach |
| StayNaughty | Gouzoulis, Paris | US | Jamison Moore |
| Zach | Mazer, Mach | US | |
| rocker | Grodin, Aidan | US |
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Current Roster
| ID | Name | Nationality | Head Coach |
| nafany | Longuet. Nicolas | Russia | Konstantin Pikiner |
| interz | Jensen, Casper | Russia | |
| Ax1Le | Delgado, Fabrizio | Russia | |
| HObbit | Hasenov, Abai | Kazakhstan | |
| groove | Pikiner, Konstantin | Russia |
Fortnite
Current Roster
| ID | Name | Nationality |
| BlackoutZ | da Silva, Patrick Garcia | Brazil |
| DrakoNz | Fernandes, Igor | Brazil |
| Avery | Bouajila, Jilani | Canada |
| nosh | King, Adam | Canada |
| Fryst | Radziwill-Debarba, Alex | US |
Halo
Current Roster
| ID | Name | Nationality | Head Coach |
| Eco | Smith, Kevin | US | Emanuel Lovejoy |
| Penguin | Hearon, Zane | US | |
| StelluR | Boettcher, Braedon | US | |
| Bound | Gray, Adam | US |
Hearthstone
Current Roster
| ID | Name | Nationality |
| Kolento | Malsh, Alexandr | Ukraine |
| DDaHyoNi | Baek, Sanghyeon | South Korea |
| DawN | Jang, Hyun-Jae | South Korea |
| Flurry | Cho, Hyun-Soo | South Korea |
| Looksam | Kim, Jin-Hyo | South Korea |
| Portia | Lee, Dong-Jae | South Korea |
| TidesofTime | Andrew Biessener | South Korea |
Legends of Runterra
Current Roster
| ID – | Name – | Nationality – |
| DaWN | Jang, Hyun-Jae | South Korea |
| DDaHyoNi | Baek, Sanghyeon | South Korea |
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Current Roster
| ID – | Name – | Nationality – |
| Mango | Marquez, Josepth | US |
TeamFight Tactics
Current Roster
| ID – | Name – | Nationality – |
| Judite | Freitas, Juan | Brazil |
| k3soju | Zhang, Michael | US |
| Portia | Lee, Dong-Jae | South Korea |
Valorant
Current Roster
| ID – | Name – | Nationality – |
| mitch | Semago, Mitch | US |
| leaf | Orf, Nathan | US |
| Xeppaa | Bach, Erick | US |
| vanity | Malaspina, Anthony | US |
| curry | Nemani, Rahul | US |
World of Warcraft
Current Roster
| ID – | Name – | Nationality – |
| Chunli | Rowell, Xavier | US |
| Kubzy | MacDonald, Cameron | Canada |
| Flop | Kreiner, Luke Francis | US |
| Wealthyman | Rodriguez, Marcel | US |
Team Vitality Achievements
| Dates | Tournament | Placement | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17/07/22 | AWC 2022 NA Finals | 2nd | 40,000 |
| 10/07/22 | ALGS: 2022 Championship | 15th | 24,000 |
| 29/06/22 | C3S3: Solo Cash Cup – Week 1: NA East | 2nd | 500 |
| 01/06/22 | PBE Clash: Dragonlords | 3rd | – |
| 15/05/22 | C3S2: FNCS – Qualifiers 3: NA East | 9th | – |
| 05/05/22 | Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Dallas0 | 1st | 100,00 |
| 01/05/22 | ALGS: 2022 Split 2 Playoffs | 10th | 18,000 |
| 01/05/22 | Halo Championship Series 2022: Kansas | 2nd | 84,000 |
| 01/05/22 | North America Series 2022 S1 | 7 – 8th | 2,000 |
| 17/04/22 | FaZe Halo Invitational | 2nd | 20,000 |
| 03/04/22 | North America Series 2022 S1: Major 3 | 3rd | 3,000 |
| 28/03/22 | ALGS: 2022 Split Pro League – NA | 6th | 6,000 |
| 26/03/22 | VCT 2022: NA Stage 1 Challengers | 3rd | 26,000 |
| 13/03/22 | Gizmos & Gadgets: NA Challengers #2 | 2nd | 500 |
| 13/03/22 | North America Series 2022 S1: Major 2 | 4th | 2,000 |
| 26/02/22 | C3S1: FNCS – Semi Finals 2: NA East | 6th | – |
| 25/02/22 | C3S1: FNCS – Semi Finals 1: NA East | 22nd | – |
| 20/02/22 | Knights Arena Carnage Cup #3 | 1st | 6,000 |
| 18/02/22 | C3S1: FNCS – Qualifier 1: NA East | 12th | – |
| 13/02/22 | Halo Championship Series 2022: NA | 1st | 54,000 |
| 23/01/22 | ALGS: 2022 Split 1 Playoffs – NA | 6th | 9,000 |
| 23/01/22 | Knights Arena Valorampage | 1st | 12,500 |
| 27/12/21 | Allie Coin Pro-Am | 4th | 500 |
| 19/12/21 | Halo Championship Series 2021: Kickoff | 1st | 140,000 |
| 08/12/21 | VALORANT Champions 2021 | 5 – 8th | 40,000 |
| 05/12/21 | ALGS: 2021 Split 1 Pro League – NA | 9th | 4,500 |
| 28/11/21 | Knights Arena Carnage Cup #2 | 1st | 6,000 |
| 31/10/21 | VCT 2021: NA Last Chance Qualifier | 1st | 40,000 |
| 26/09/21 | AWC 2021 NA Grand Finals | 3rd | 20,000 |
| 22/09/21 | Grayson Allen’s Apex Invitational | 3rd | 2,100 |
| 05/09/21 | Reckoning: NA Finals | 5th | 1,500 |
| 22/08/21 | Nerd Street Gamers: Summer Champ | 1st | 12,000 |
| 20/06/21 | SCARZ CUP – 2021 | 2nd | 1,814 |
| 13/06/21 | ALGS Championship 2021 – NA | 2nd | 132,875 |
| 06/06/21 | Halo 5 SEND OFF | 1st | 12,000 |
| 23/05/21 | Six Invitational 2021 | 13 -16th | 55,000 |
| 02/05/21 | VCT 2021: NA Stage 2 Challengers Finals | 3rd | 15,000 |
| 02/05/21 | AWC 2021 NA S1 Finals | 2nd | 25,000 |
| 25/04/21 | APAC League 2021 Playoffs – Stage 1 | 2nd | 31,250 |
| 18/04/21 | AWC 2021 NA S1 Circuit | 1st | 20,000 |
| 16/04/21 | APAC North 2021 – Stage 1 | 1st | 15,000 |
| 11/04/21 | LCS Spring 2021 | 1st | 100,000 |
| 28/03/21 | Nerd Street Gamers: 2021 Monthly March | 1st | 5,000 |
| 10/01/21 | APAC League 2020 – Finals North | 1st | 17,500 |
Cloud9 Partnerships & Collaborations
- Kingston FURY – a leader in memory product and tech solutions, extends its partnership with Cloud9 on Sept 2021
- Cloud9 partnered up with a pop culture franchise, The Smurfs, on Nov 18, 2021
- Cloud9 and Microsoft entered a multi-year technology partnership in May 2019
- EPOS on the Cloud9 train as an audio partner; deal signed on Sept 2020
- PUMA announced a multi-year partnership with Cloud9
- On Feb 3, 2022, Cloud9 announced a collaboration with Blockchain.com, with the latter becoming the official cryptocurrency exchange and wallet partner.
- Aug 2022, BC.GAME – a leading online casino and sports betting platform partnered up with Cloud9
- In May 2019, Cloud9 signed an exclusive multi-year deal with AT&T
- Red Bull is a major sponsor and the official drinks partner of Cloud9
- HyperX is a partner of Cloud9
- Secret Lab and Cloud9 signed an exclusive deal for a licensed gaming chair line.
- Cloud9 announces BMW as an automotive partner.
Controversies
- The controversial departure of Cloud9’s League of Legends coach, Nick De Cesare, in Feb 2022
- Cloud9 removed Sixless over controversial comments about Indian players and teams.
- Cloud9’s Vanity is in hot waters after taking a cheap dig at NYFU after winning the MEL Valorant Premiership Season 3
- Cloud9’s member Sh1ro is under scrutiny due to his signature closely resembling the Russian war symbol.
- Cloud9’s Macayla leaves the team after a controversial statement over the Russia-Ukraine war.
Philanthropy
- Cloud9 joined forces with Red Bull for a Charity Tournament event on December 19, 2020
- Cloud9 announced the 2021 Pride Campaign and donated to several LGBTQIA+ organizations.