Sneaky officially leaves Cloud9 LoL roster for 2020 LCS Spring Split

Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi has been officially removed from the Cloud9 League of Legends roster.

The organization announced the news that the longtime AD Carry will not be a part of its roster for the 2020 LCS Spring Split. Sneaky’s future with Cloud9 has been in doubt since the organization signed former Team SoloMid AD Carry Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen.

Cloud9 stated that Sneaky will remain with Cloud9 in an ownership amd advisory capacity, but will focus his efforts on becoming an independent streamer.

“Working the last seven years with Sneaky to build what Cloud9 has become was an incredible experience for me. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him as a player and I’m excited that Sneaky has made the decision to stay on as an owner and take up the additional responsibilities of being an advisor at Cloud9,” Cloud9 owner Jack Etienne said on the organization’s website.

Sneaky himself commented on the news in a statement on Twitter. In it, he strongly hinted that he may return to competitive play before long.

“It’s not a permanent retirement, I might return to pro play as I do still have the competitive drive. I just want the best opportunity for it and to me that has to start with taking a break,” Sneaky said.

He thanked Etienne and his fans and noted that he looks forward to streaming. 

Though Sneaky finds himself on the outside looking in for the 2020 LCS Spring Split, players taking a split off isn’t unheard of. In early 2017 during his time with Team SoloMid, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng took a break from competitive play but returned for the following LCS Summer Split.

What’s next for Cloud9 without Sneaky?

With Sneaky officially out of Cloud9, the team has the following players attached to its roster for the 2020 LCS Spring Split:

• Eric “Licorice” Ritchie
• Robert “Blaber” Huang
• Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer
• Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen
• Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme

Sneaky’s departure from the team is certainly the end of an era. 

The player has been a member of Cloud9 since 2013. During that time, he helped Cloud9 reach Worlds seven times and win two LCS championships. 

Sneaky most recently competed at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, which ended in disappointing fashion for the organization. Though the team has a history of overachieving at Worlds, Sneaky and Cloud9 were eliminated during the group stage. 

This prompted the organization to make a series of roster changes, including dropping Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen and Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam.

The new roster should be a strong one, but it will likely feel strange to see Cloud9 competing without him.