Steven R. April 1, 2019
Star Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey once again finds himself without a team.
Cloud9 announced on its website that it is releasing the French player from his contract, sending him into free agency. The move comes a few weeks after the departures of Robin "flusha" Rönnquist and Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro.
“We’re so grateful to have had kioShiMa with the team during this time. The skills and qualities he showed with us leave no doubt in my mind that he’ll prove to be a valuable teammate wherever he goes next,” Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne said.
KioShiMa joined Cloud9 in November, returning to professional CS:GO following the dissolution of Team Envy’s French squad. He enjoyed moderate success with the team at events like the ELEAGUE CS:GO Invitational 2019 and BLAST Pro Series: Lisbon 2018. Despite continuing roster shakeups, Cloud9 competed at the 2019 Katowice Major and put on a decent showing, nearly qualifying for the Champions Stage playoffs.
Though the Cloud9 lineup had a spot in the Berlin Major in its pocket and a crew that could have gelled into a serious contender, the team today is almost unrecognizable from the one seen in Katowice. Will "RUSH" Wierzba and Timothy "autimatic" Ta are the only remaining players from that roster, with Kioshima and Flusha sitting in free agency and Zellsis competing with Swole Patrol.
The team has most of its roster for the spring locked down with Maikil "Golden" Kunda Selim returning to in-game leader duties and Daniel "vice" Kim joining on a trial basis. Still, Cloud9’s revolving door of talent over the past 18 months and its inability to solidify a roster raises eyebrows.
Kioshima likely won’t have any trouble finding a new home with a number of teams on the lookout for talent. Though he didn’t hint that he had any specific plans in mind, Kioshima made it clear he’s planning to return.
“I really appreciate Cloud9 giving me the opportunity to play professional CS:GO again,” Kioshima said. “I'm looking forward to what's next for me in my career and I wish Cloud9 the best.”
Judging from its schedule, Cloud9 may already have someone lined up to replace the departing player. The team indicated in the statement that it's committed to playing at BLAST Pro Series: Miami in under two weeks.