Steven R. April 2, 2019
Cloud9 has completed its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster with a surprising final addition to the team.
The organization announced on its website that it has added former OpTic Gaming player René "cajunb" Borg to its lineup. This rounds out the team’s new roster following massive turnover in the weeks since the 2019 Katowice Major.
“I'm excited for a veteran like cajunb to begin playing with Cloud9,” Cloud9 team manager Jonathan Tran said. “I believe he can teach our young players a lot from his years of experience in Counter-Strike.”
This is a quick series moves for both CajunB and Cloud9.
On March 31, Cloud9 made the surprise announcement that Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey had been released. The news of the move raised the eyebrows of CS:GO and Cloud9 fans.
Though it did not reach the Champions Stage playoffs at the Katowice Major, the team fell just one map short of doing so despite forming just a few weeks before the event. That solid success coupled with the raw talent of each individual player gave Cloud9 the look of a potential contender in 2019.
Instead, the roster struggles that plagued the brand in 2018 continued on with the releases of Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro and Robin "flusha" Rönnquist. Though those holes were plugged by a returning Maikil "Golden" Kunda Selim and the addition of trial player Daniel "vice" Kim, but the release of Kioshima was odd given Cloud9’s packed spring schedule.The only players that remain on the team from that tournament are Will "RUSH" Wierzba and Timothey "autimatic" Ta.
That said, there is no shortage of great free agent talent in CS:GO at the moment.
Days earlier, CajunB joined that lot after stepping down from OpTic Gaming. He announced that the move was due to the expiration of his contract and stated that he was open to new opportunities. As a veteran of the Danish scene with an extensive list of high profile tournament wins, he certainly has the look of an apt replacement for KioShiMa.
“When you join an organization like Cloud9 there will always be a lot of pressure and expectations,” CajunB said. “I will do my best together with my teammates to make sure we succeed and make the fans proud.”
The new Cloud9 lineup is a strong one on paper, but it will have its work cut out for it in the months ahead. It will debut at BLAST Pro Series: Miami on April 12 and will compete against stiff competition.