Cloud9 has announced the departures of Anthony "vanity" Malaspina and Dylan "runi" Cade, two players who were both in their second stint with the American organization.
runi, who played a part of the team's in-game leader duties, announced his retirement from professional Valorant shortly after the announcement was made by his former.
"It just feels like time to move on from playing, unfortunately didn't get where I wanted to but still happy to have experienced something once in a lifetime," runi said. "Not sure what's next but for now it's time to just enjoy time with friends and family."
runi was a part of the Cloud9 team in 2023, joining after spending time with Challengers sides Soniqs Soniqs Inactive and Zero MarksMen Black Zero MarksMen Black Inactive Tim Timothy Braun Blahst Nathan Brand yiinel Elias Soto Nanners Anderson Lutkehus . He departed Cloud9 in the offseason following 2023, but rejoined the squad following their elimination from Americas Kickoff and before the start of Americas Stage 1.
A month after the conclusion of their 2024 season, Cloud9 announced that Vanity had been benched and allowed to explore options with a new team as a restricted free agent. With the newest announcement, he is now an unattached free agent.
Like runi, vanity was also in his second go-around with Cloud9. He also assumed the team's IGL duties throughout the course of his C9 career. He played for them from 2021 to 2023, with LOCK IN//São Paulo marking the end of his time. He rejoined ahead of the 2024 season.
In 2024, Cloud9 fell short of the heights that they'd hoped for. They failed to qualify for any international events, being eliminated in the group stages of Kickoff and bowing out early in the knockout rounds of the Stage 1 and Stage 2 playoffs.
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