What’s next for Cloud9 after losing electronic? Possible future of the team
These days, high-profile and unexpected transfers in the professional Counter-Strike 2 scene are extremely rare. Typically, they are announced by insiders and the entire community knows about upcoming roster changes in advance, sometimes even faster than the players themselves. However, on April 15, a truly sensational transfer occurred, which no one was aware of.
Denis electroNic Sharipov left Cloud9 and replaced Nikolay mir Bityukov as part of Virtus.pro. The roster of Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov has lost one of the best rifflers and the fate of the team raises big questions. In this article we will discuss the possible future of Cloud9 and possible reshuffles in the team.
Who will be the stand-in on the team? Will he remain in the lineup?
Former club academy player Daniil alpha Demin will perform as a stand-in at the qualifications for the Esports World Cup for Cloud9. This is clearly not a worthy replacement for Denis electroNic Sharipov. The 19-year-old esports player, representing the club from August to December 2022, did not play a single match on HLTV. However, he later had more success playing with Sprout, where he spent several months in 2023. In October of the same year, he moved to the Team Spirit Academy, where he plays to this day. The organization’s management has already proven that it knows how to cultivate talent, but it is too early to say that Daniil alpha Demin is ready to perform on the tier-1 stage with such experienced and ambitious players who are gathered in Cloud9.
Over the past three months, he has a rating of only 1.07 against not the strongest opponents. This is clearly not the replacement for the legendary Denis electroNic Sharipov that C9 wants and he is unlikely to continue playing for the club after qualifying for the Esports World Cup. Only a few days passed from the moment the player was transferred to Virtus.pro to the qualifications, and the team simply did not have time to find a suitable stand-in.
Who will be the Cloud9's sniper?
Even if we consider Daniil alpha Demin as a full-fledged new Cloud9 player, he does not solve one of the most important problems of the roster – the lack of a sniper. If the club decides to keep the young talent, it will still have to make additional reshuffles and look for a performer with AWP. Ilya m0NESY Osipov was an ideal option for the club, but he has already denied all rumors about leaving G2 and will play for the European organization for at least the rest of the season until the summer.
In the CIS region, Cloud9 does not have many options for the sniper position. There are only four potential candidates and only one of them is a free agent. If you choose not from them, then the club can only switch to an international squad and look for AWP around the world.
The easiest option for Cloud9 is to sign Abdul degster Gasanov, who is no longer under contract with OG. At one time, the sniper was extremely promising, but began to lose his condition along with the failed compositions of the European organization. He has also been inactive for some time due to surgery, which may have a negative impact on his personal form. However, Cloud9 can give the player another chance and perhaps with such experienced and ambitious teammates he will again be able to reach his maximum.
The second candidate for Cloud9 is Denis deko Zhukov, who now plays for Aurora. He has already played with Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov in 1WIN and this will certainly be a plus. They already have some playfulness in the duet, and the captain spoke positively about the young sniper. Deko himself is one of the most promising AWPs in the region, but does not want to play in an international team, so Cloud9 may be the best option for him. The only question is whether Aurora will want to give up its best player, because the club also has ambitions to enter the tier-1 stage, and the loss of a sniper will be a fatal blow for it.
Cloud9 can also pay attention to Kaisar ICY Faiznurov from AMKAL or Artem ArtFr0st Kharitonov from PARIVISION. Both players have high skill, but have not yet developed on the tier-1 stage. ArtFr0st even played for Team Spirit before the arrival of Dmitry sh1ro Sokolov, which will also be a plus with potential interest from Cloud9. These are not the options the club wants, but they are among the best they can get. We are still more inclined to transfer Abdul degster Gasanov or Denis deko Zhukov.
Further reshuffles in Cloud9
Judging by the fact that Denis electroNic Sharipov is not a sniper, Cloud9 is ready for further reshuffles. Potential AWP in the team will clearly replace Sergey Ax1Le Rykhtorov or Abay HObbit Khassenov, there is no one else to exclude from the lineup. The club clearly does not want to lose an experienced captain in the person of Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov, and Ilya Perfecto Zalutsky makes a big impact even in difficult times for the roster.
It’s also high time for Cloud9 to change their coach. Konstantin Groove Pikiner’s ideas have long since become obsolete, and fans often blame him for the team’s defeats. His contribution to the team is not particularly noticeable and in tactical terms C9 cannot be called a strong team. A potential replacement coach could be Dmitry hooch Bogdanov, who recently left Aurora and became a free agent.
What tournaments await Cloud9?
The closest tournament for Cloud9 will be the qualifications for the Esports World Cup. The club refused to participate in ESL Pro League Season 19 after the departure of Denis electroNic Sharipov. But even in the four-team qualifiers, Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov’s roster doesn’t have many chances. There is a lower bracket at the qualifications, but it is unlikely to help you get the only slot for the championship with a huge prize pool.
Cloud9’s first opponent will be Sashi’s mix of experienced Danish players under the leadership of the controversial coach Nicolai HUNDEN Petersen. Despite the change, C9 is still the favorite, but she clearly won’t have an advantage in the game itself. It is unlikely that they will be able to show a good performance with stand-in, and their opponent has already beaten 9 Pandas, GamerLegion and Guild Eagles. Even if Cloud9 can cope with the dark horse of the qualifiers for the Esports World Cup, they will have meetings with BetBoom Team and Eternal Fire, and it is unlikely that they will be able to beat them without Denis electroNic Sharipov.
After the qualifiers, Cloud9 will not play until May 14th. The only tournament before the summer for the team will be BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024, before which the team needs to decide on a full roster. In July, the team is waiting for BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024. These are all championships where Cloud9 will perform and there will be very little chance of a successful performance.
Cloud9 is at a critical point and it is time for the organization to make important decisions about fundamental changes in the team. For now, the squad is in a deplorable state and can only be saved by purchasing a sniper, as well as changing the coach. If nothing changes, the team may not survive to the next major and will face a complete disband.