Perfecto and HObbit left Cloud9. What’s next?
The unexpected departure of Denis electroNic Sharipov was clearly not part of Cloud9’s plans for the development of the roster. A few days after the high-profile transfer of the esportsman to Virtus.pro and one failed qualification, the club’s roster burst at the seams and there was an almost complete disbandment. The CEO of the organization, Jack Etienne himself, calls the ongoing events a restructuring of the roster, and not a disband, but the transfer of Ilya Perfecto Zalutsky and Abay HObbit Khassenov to the bench was an unexpected decision for all fans of the club and ordinary Counter-Strike fans. There are only two players left in the team – Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov and Sergey Ax1Le Rykhtorov. Cloud9 is facing enormous changes that were difficult to foresee. Everyone believed that the club only needed to find a sniper, but apparently the members of the roster could not survive parting with one of the best players on the team and they had no motivation to play together further. In this material we will discuss changes in Cloud9 and possible new roster of the organization.
Who left Cloud9 after electroNic?
Ilya Perfecto Zalutsky and Abay HObbit Khassenov are not the only members of the lineup who left the organization following Denis electroNic Sharipov. Along with the players, permanent analyst Ivan F_1N Kochugov, who has been helping esports players since the days of Gambit Esports since 2022, also left the organization. This is also a big loss for the club, he did a lot of useful work that compensated for the gaps of Konstantin Groove Pikiner in the coaching role. As for the coach himself, rumors have already appeared online that he will also leave the team. This reshuffle has been brewing for a long time and, perhaps, if it had happened on time, the composition would not have fallen apart.
Exception of Abay HObbit Khassenov has also been asking for a long time; the esportsman is approaching the end of his career and can no longer show the previous level of individual performance. His place in the lineup could just be taken by a specialized sniper, which the team was so lacking. But because of previous merits, Cloud9 kept HObbit in the team and watched as it gradually fell apart.
The departure of Ilya Perfecto Zalutsky will hit the club as hard as the transfer of Denis electroNic Sharipov. The esportsman was one of the strongest links on the roster and was distinguished by his stability. The player will clearly find a place for himself in the new team, but Cloud9 is unlikely to be able to find an ideal replacement for Perfecto.
What's next for the Cloud9 lineup?
Now Cloud9 has many options for building a new CS2 roster. Management will have to replace almost the entire team. which means that it will be a completely new team. The vacant position of coach will most likely be filled by Dmitry hooch Bogdanov, with whom, according to rumors, negotiations are already underway. The former esports player is obviously a better candidate than Konstantin Groove Pikiner had no experience on the professional scene in CS:GO and came to the post after a long break.
It’s still difficult to guess who Cloud9 will attract to the new roster, but they should definitely sign a specialized sniper. Denis deko Zhukov from Aurora is unlikely to want to move to a completely new roster, so the club will most likely settle on Abdul degster Gasanov, Kaisar ICY Faiznurov or Artem ArtFr0st Kharitonov.
Insider harumi suddenly published the test lineup of Cloud9 on his social networks, but quickly deleted the publication. If the rumor turns out to be true, it will be Kaisar ICY Faiznurov from AMKAL who will join the club, as well as Kirill Magnojez Rodnov, who recently moved to BetBoom Team. According to the insider, the organization will also return Timofey interz Yakushin, who left Cloud9 in March 2023.
Apparently, after the failure of the idea with a star roster, the organization will concentrate on young talents, like Team Spirit. This will allow us to develop new stars at a distance, but now it is unlikely to bring the club quick success on the professional stage. But he’s still in an unenviable position, so a long-term roster doesn’t seem like such a bad decision.
Analysts are also considering the option of Cloud9 switching to an international roster. This decision looks quite controversial, since Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov and Sergey Ax1Le Rykhtorov have not previously played in English-speaking teams and adjustment to the new communication may take a long time. Perhaps the players don’t have such a desire at all.
Only one thing becomes clear: three places have become vacant at Cloud9, which means that now the club is definitely ready to sign a sniper. It is almost impossible to continue playing in this style; recently the team has been an easy opponent for all teams with a stable AWP.
Where will Perfecto and HObbit go?
Ilya Perfecto Zalutsky and Abay HObbit Khassenov did not announce their future plans, but the Kazakh esportsman said that his career is not over yet. He is ready for new challenges and will look for a new team. He is unlikely to be able to return to the tier-1 stage, but he is still capable of performing at a stable tier-2 and sometimes attending smaller championships.
Perfecto has a lot of career development options. For example, Jacob Pimp Winneche really wants to see a player in G2 Esports. He will really become a serious strengthening of the problematic international roster, and he is also a friend of Ilya m0NESY Osipov. G2 management has already stated that there will be no changes to the roster until the summer of 2024, but the plans of esports organizations often change. Especially when such a tempting offer appears on the market. If Ilya Zalutsky does not move to G2 Esports, he will most likely continue his career in one of the CIS teams.
No matter how Cloud9’s lineup changes, it is unlikely to be as stellar as before. It brought together the best players in the CIS in their roles, but they failed to become a super-team. Literally from the very beginning they failed to reach a stable level of performances and the changes that occurred were only a matter of time. It is much easier to completely rebuild the lineup than to try to find a non-obvious problem within a team that has been performing together for quite some time.
We can only monitor the future fate of Cloud9 and believe that the management will be able to select the right players and coach, which will allow the club to return to high positions on the professional stage. The organization can no longer give up the sniper or hold on to old players; the next mistake could be fatal for such an eminent tag.