Cloud9’s League of Legends team will soon experience its second major roster shakeup in as many weeks.
Coach Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu promised change is coming in a TwitLonger post. In it he mentioned quality of scrim games, and not win percentage, as a major factor in deciding who would play on the North American LCS stage and who would play in Academy games.
“I just wanted to let everyone know that we’re listening to you, and that we’re aware of what we need to fix,” Reapered wrote. “We’re actively solving our mid and late game issues, among other issues that need attention.”
The team has been dominant in previous seasons, reaching the finals four times and winning two of them. But last split they struggled, and were swept out of the quarterfinals by eventual-champions Team Liquid.
The week before the Summer Split began, Cloud9 moved three of its star players, Nicolaj Jensen, Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi, and Andy “Smoothie” Ta, to the bench in favor of the team’s Academy players. Reapered cited motivation issues and said the original roster members would have the chance to regain their starting spots.
Currently, of the replacements, only mid laner Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer has impressed. The bot lane duo of Yuri “Keith” Jew and Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam have looked shaky in each of their matches, even outright losing some games for the team. That, combined with the success of traditional marksmen in the NA LCS, may signal a return for Sneaky.
The changes will likely be announced later this week before the start of the LCS games on Saturday, when Cloud9 faces off against old rivals TSM.
