Jake “Stewie2K” Yip will replace for former Cloud9 captain and in-game leader Sean “sg@res” Gares, the team announced earlier today.
Gares had been the face of the lineup and a veteran of the pro scene before leaving late last year, while Yip is a relatively inexperienced newcomer to the professional scene and has yet to face international competition.
Yip most recently turned out for Splyce (formerly Followesports) in the ESEA premier division, where he displayed a high level of technical ability. Various well-known players, such as former iBUYPOWER player Sam “DaZeD” Marine, have praised Yip for his performance in the FPL, an in-house matchmaking system designed by Faceit for professional and high level players.
Fans of the team may be slightly surprised at the acquisition. Counter Logic Gaming frontman Tarik Celik had been linked with the vacant spot for several weeks. Cloud9 was unwilling to match the buyout that CLG had set for the player, however, and eventually lost interest, according to sources close to the team.
While Yip has shown great potential, he lacks international experience, something the rest of the Cloud9 lineup have in abundance. The challenge will be to see if Yip has what it takes to perform on the world stage.
The move also presents a change in the team’s dynamic. Gares has been the team’s in-game leader. Just prior to his departure, it was widely speculated that Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert had taken over the role. With the inexperienced Yip replacing Gares, it looks as though Gilbert will almost certainly fill that role, unless the team plans on bringing in a coach.
Image via Valve | Remix by Jacob Wolf
Need more esports? Check out Dot Esports on Youtube!
