Nick G. August 19, 2018
Cloud9 has done what seemed impossible.
After sitting in 10th place in the standings just four weeks ago, Cloud9 is now guaranteed a top two finish in the 2018 NA LCS Summer Split. They will qualify for the 2018 NA LCS Summer Playoffs with a quarterfinals bye.
A win over Golden Guardians secured a playoff seed for Cloud9, and a subsequent victory over FlyQuest secured the bye — not bad for a team who were looking completely lost just one month ago.
Cloud9 found itself in dead last after a revolving door of roster changes in the first half of the summer split. But after trading Andy “Smoothie” Ta to Echo Fox and settling on a consistent roster, Cloud9 has done nothing but crush the competition.
Perhaps the most credit should go to Head Coach Bok “Reapered” Han-Gyu. The decision to bench star carries Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen and Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi was met with heavy scrutiny from fans and peers alike. Little faith was put into what the roster could accomplish with their stars on the bench. Things went better than expected at first, but whatever sharpness Cloud9 benefited from with their new roster was soon squandered by indecision.
The shakeup eventually settled, and with their newly stable team, Cloud9 has become a force. NA’s hottest team has not lost since Week 5 of the 2018 NA LCS Summer Split.