runi returns to Cloud9, moose to make franchising debut

Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #8 Xeppaa Erick Bach runi Dylan Cade moose Kaleb Jayne vanity Anthony Malaspina OXY Francis Hoang have announced the signings of former in-game leader Dylan "runi" Cade and Challengers prospect Kaleb "moose" Jayne ahead of their first match of the Americas League against Leviatán Leviatán Latin America South Rank #1 tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena Mazino Roberto Rivas aspas Erick Santos C0M Corbin Lee .

After just barely missing out on last year's NA Challengers, runi was signed by C9 alongside Jake "jakee" Anderson as part of a rebuild ahead of the 2023 Americas League. Despite advancing to the playoffs, Cloud9 were crushed by an upcoming Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #21 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le Apoth Vincent Le jawgemo Alexander Mor in their opener. After eliminating Leviatán, the team advanced through the lower bracket to meet NRG Esports NRG Esports North America Rank #3 crashies Austin Roberts Victor Victor Wong Marved Jimmy Nguyen Ethan Ethan Arnold Demon1 Max Mazanov in a last bid for tickets to Masters: Tokyo.

Unfortunately, C9 were eliminated in a heartbreaking map three overtime loss, relegating them to the Americas LCQ. With one last chance at making Champions that year, the team started off strong by sending Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #2 TenZ Tyson Ngo Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid Sacy Gustavo Rossi to the lower bracket before falling in the wake of KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #3 keznit Angelo Mori Klaus Nicolas Ferrari Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro heat Olavo Marcelo ' Cinderella run.

In a twisted turn of fate, the very team that sent C9 home from the LCQ would be none other than Leviatán after a reverse sweep crushed any hope of crowning a North American LCQ champion. Shortly after, C9 released runi in the midst of the end-of-season rostermania. The orgless player had his own plans to sign with OREsports OREsports Inactive nillyaz Chase Linder Paincakes Jake Hass , but the project was dissolved ahead of Challengers.

A different storyline awaited moose in 2023; the renowned Sentinel player was tasked with fighting his way through North America's Challengers League alongside Shopify Rebellion Shopify Rebellion Inactive v1c Victor Truong mada Adam Pampuch – the former Luminosity Luminosity Inactive moose Kaleb Jayne mada Adam Pampuch dazzLe Will Loafman bdog Brandon Sanders TiGG Tanner Spanu core – in hopes of qualifying for the Americas Ascension.

Despite just barely making the playoffs of Challengers, two swift losses to G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #4 icy Jacob Lange trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf and M80 M80 North America Rank #1 zander Alexander Dituri NiSMO Marc-Andre Tayar koalanoob Gianfranco Potestio nitr0 Nick Cannella BcJ Brendan Jensen – the eventual playoff kings – eliminated moose and his teammates from contention. The roster of Shopify would later be picked apart as a merger with Moist Moguls Moist Moguls Inactive aproto Alex Protopapas sym Tyler Porter brawk Brock Somerhalder flyuh Xavier Carlson thief Brady Dever separated players from both teams in hopes of creating a contending roster for the next Challengers series.

moose found himself on the short end of the stick, but relocated to Turtle Troop Turtle Troop North America Rank #6 wedid Matthew Suchan Add3r Jack Hayashi stellar Brenden McGrath corey Corey Nigra bdog Brandon Sanders , another Challengers team, before opting to join YFP Gaming YFP Gaming North America Rank #24 penny Erik Penny thief Brady Dever bones Ethan Le Jonaaa6 Jonard Penaflor fiziq Lucas Blow . The newly-formed troupe of talent breezed through the open qualifiers and secured a spot at Challengers before moose departed the team for a spot in franchising.

Cloud9's new roster will make its debut against Latin American rivals Leviatán in Week 1 of the Stage 1 Americas League on Apr 6.

Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #8 Xeppaa Erick Bach runi Dylan Cade moose Kaleb Jayne vanity Anthony Malaspina OXY Francis Hoang is now:

Anthony "vanity" Malaspina
Erick "Xeppaa" Bach
Dylan "runi" Cade
Kaleb "moose" Jayne
Francis "OXY" Hoang
Ian "Immi" Harding (Coach)
Guglielmo "GUGLi" Carraro (Assistant coach)

Unfortunately, like most esports professional scenes, Valorant is now experiencing a level of gatekeeping within its pro community. Moose was relegated to the Tier 2 scene after underperforming for Luminosity, then Shopify Rebellion. It's tough to see a player that has clearly demonstrated struggles with competing at the highest level get another opportunity to do so again when there are more deserving players in the world who should be first in line for this opportunity.

Recycling talent is a problem that plagues the esports scene. I saw it as early as the 2000s with Counter-Strike and its still prevalent today. It's understandable that its probably easier for a full team of five to stand out (i.e. The Guard) and be picked up by a world renowned org (G2) than have one player continuously shine and hope they've made the right connections to land themselves on a better team.

The problem is is that these esports orgs need to do a better job scouting out the scene and vetting the talent before glancing at a Tier 2 players' resume and saying, "Well they've been here before so experience is on their side," and then extending a tryout and contract. Nepotism plays a huge factor here as well with influential players like Vanity who can leverage his power to bring in his friends and former teammates who may either never be ready for the scene or still need development.

I like C9, this isn't a post to blast Moose and I'm Wishing him the best of luck. But at some point we have to take a harder look at the playerbase as a whole (whether it be NA or Global) and take into major consideration what essential pieces are missing on the team and who is adept to fulfill those roles.