Let me tell you about the best esports organization in the world, Cloud9.
Cloud9 was founded in 2013, and entered the VALORANT pro scene in 2020, very soon after the game's release. They roster was filled with former pros from CS:GO: TenZ, Relyks, mitch, shinobi, and vice, and Chu as the Head Coach.
Their first big tournament was First Strike: NA, a competition filled with all the best teams in the North American VALORANT scene. Cloud9 won the NSG Open Qual, beating teams such as TSM and Envy. In the NSG Closed Qual, they started off beating 100 Thieves and XSET in the Group Stage, but lost 0-2 to Renegades in the Quarterfinal. Cloud9 lost 0-2 to T1 in the QF of the UMG Closed Qual as well, and ultimately did not qualify for the event.
Following the loss at First Strike, Cloud9 let go of Chu, and moved their analyst JamezIRL to the Head Coach role. Ahead of the first offical VCT event, S1 Challengers 1, TenZ and shinobi both left the team. In replacement, Cloud9 picked up former CS:GO demon leaf, and Korean import xeta.
Cloud9 won three straight matches in Open Qualifiers for S1 Challengers 1, but lost in a close 1-2 vs Immortals in the Round of 16. Afterward, they signed poiz as a sixth man for the team. Cloud9 also suffered an extremely close loss in the Round of 16 for Open Qualifiers to S1 Challengers 2 to Gen.G. Cloud9 sadly lost 0-2 to T1A in the QF of Qualifiers for S1 Challengers 3. It was clear changes had to be made after so many losses in qualifiers.
Ahead of Stage 2 of the 2021 VCT, Cloud9 got rid of Relyks and vice, and replaced them with CS:GO stars floppy and Xeppaa.
Cloud9 managed to qualify to S2 Challengers 1 with their new roster, beating Gen.G 2-0 in their final qualifier match. Cloud9 were set to match up against Immortals in their QF match. They suffered a massive 13-3 loss on Map 1, but managed to bring back the match, winning the next 2 maps. Cloud9 had to face off against First Strike winners 100 Thieves in the SF. Cloud9 couldn't put up much of a fight vs such a strong team, and lost 2-0. Cloud9 would have to face off against Version1, who consisted stars such as Zellsis and vanity, in an elimination match. They unfortunately lost in a close 1-2 series, and they were eliminated from the event. However, their 5th-6th place finish did give them a bye bringing them straight into S2 Challengers 2.
They started the event with a dominant 2-0 over T1 in the QF, followed by a 2-0 win over Andbox in the SF. This was now oficially their highest tournament placement ever. They had to face off against NRG in the upper bracket final. They won Map 1 very closely by a score of 15-13, but breezed through Map 2 13-2 for their sixth straight map win, and a spot in the Grand Finals against either NRG or Sentinels. SEN beat NRG 2-0 in the Lower Final, meaning Cloud9 would square off against Sentinels in the Grand Final of S2 Challengers 2. It was a rough 0-3 loss for Cloud9, and Sentinels won the event. Their second place finish would grant them a spot in S2 Finals.
Cloud9 beat NV and NRG 2-0 in their first two matches, giving them a spot in the Upper Final against Sentinels. They lost Map 1, but destroyed Sentinels 13-1 on Map 2. It seemed like C9 might have their chance to get revenge on Sentinels, but ultimately lost the match 1-2. They then lost 1-2 to Version1 for a 3rd place finish at the S2 Challengers Finals, just barely missing out on a spot at VALORANT Masters Reykjavik.
They failed to qualify for S3 Challengers 1 after an 0-2 loss to Rise in the Round of 16 of Open Qualifiers, and benched floppy following the loss, and moved poiz onto the main roster.
Cloud9 also failed to qualify to S3 Challengers 2 after an 0-2 loss to Luminosity Gaming in the QF of Open Qualifiers.
After two straight fails to qualify, Cloud9 put poiz back on the bench, released floppy, and signed vanity, the former Version1 IGL, who had qualified to Masters Reykjavik earlier in the year, ahead of the Last Chance Qualifier.
They beat vanity's former team Version1 2-0 in their QF match, and they would have to Rise in the SF. They won Map 1 in OT, but lost the final 2 maps 4-13 and 12-14. They beat Gen.G 2-1 in the Lower Round 2 with a 13-1 win on Map 1, and they would face XSET in the third round of the lower bracket. They beat them 2-0, meaning they would be in the final 3 teams of the NA LCQ. They would face 100 Thieves, the First Strike winners. Cloud9 edged out a 2-1 win despite losing Map 1 5-13. They were now in the Grand Final vs Rise. Whoever won would go to VALORANT Champions, a huge LAN full of the best teams around the world, that would ultimately decide the world champion of the 2021 VCT. They absolutely rocked Rise 3-0, with a 13-0 on Map 2. They would go to VALORANT Champions, and hopefully be crowned the winners of the 2021 VCT.
They had to face EMEA giants FNATIC in their opening match. FNATIC had made it to the finals of Masters Reykjavik earlier that year. Surprisingly, they took a map off of them, but lost 1-2 to FNC. They would play an elimination match against Thai team FULL SENSE. They won the match 2-0, keeping their 2021 hopes alive. They would face the best team in South Korea, Vision Strikers. Vision Strikers had made it to both Masters that year, and seemed like the heavy favourites going into the match. Cloud9 edged a very close 2-1 upset win, meaning they would be the only NA team to make it past the Group Stage. In the QF, they would have to beat another Masters qualifying Team Liquid. Unfortunately Cloud9's hopes at being the 2021 VALORANT Champions came to an end with a 0-2 loss to Liquid.
After the VCT ended, poiz left the team.
Cloud9 were invited to S1 Challengers, where they went 5-0 in their group, capturing wins over 100 Thieves, XSET, Evil Geniuses, Luminosity, and The Guard. They beat Knights 2-1 in the QF, but had to face a beast of a team in OpTic in the SF. They managed to win a map, but lost the match 1-2. Cloud9 then beat Version1 and XSET 2-1 in the lower bracket, meaning they would face The Guard in the LBF. They lost 0-3 in convincing fashion, and just missed out on a spot at Masters Reykjavik.
Following their huge loss, they traded xeta and Autumn to T1 for curry.
They went 2-3 in their group at S2 Challengers, and failed to make it to the Playoffs. They had, however, accumulated enough circuit points to go to the NA Last Chance Qualifier.
Cloud9 beat the ex-Luminosity roster Shopify Rebellion 2-0 in their opening match, but followed it with an 0-2 loss to TGRD. They eliminated NRG 2-0, but their 2022 VCT came to an end after an 0-2 loss to eventual winners 100 Thieves.
Cloud9 were accepted to franchising ahead of the 2023 VCT, and replaced curry and mitch with former Version1 and Sentinels player Zellsis, and the best player in the world, yay.
They played at the RBHG tournament to show off their new roster, but unfortunately opened the event with a 1-2 loss to Tier 2 EMEA team FOKUS. They followed up the match well, with convincing 2-0's over fellow franchised teams Team Vitality and KRU Esports, and topped their group. They once again 2-0'd KRU in their first bracket match, but lost 0-3 to 100 Thieves in the final, and then a bunch of braindead VLR users started acting like it meant something.
Cloud9 fixed themselves up ahead of their first VCT 2023 match, which would be against the second best team in Asia, Paper Rex. Many people doubted C9, going into the match, but Cloud9 dominated Paper Rex 2-0, and would move on to face the best team in Asia, DRX. They won Map 1 13-3, but it all fell apart on Maps 2 and 3, and they ultimately were eliminated from LOCK//IN Sao Paulo.
But they still own your favourite team.
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