Cloud9 to drop Woxic for Xeppaa according to report

Cloud9’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad is set to make its second roster change in less than a month, according to a new report.

The North American esports organization is preparing to make yet another change to its recently revamped roster according to a report from RushB Media. The team is looking to bring in former Chaos Esports rifler Erick “Xeppaa” Bach to replace AWPer Özgür “woxic” Eker, who is said to be headed for the bench due to reasons unrelated to his in-game performances. The report also states that those reasons weren’t the result of an internal disagreement inside the team, but doesn’t specify beyond that.

Xeppaa to replace woxic on Cloud9

If the move goes through, it will be the second major change for Cloud9’s self-proclaimed powerhouse roster. The organization’s CSGO division said goodbye to veteren head coach Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović on December 28 due to what C9 general manager Henry “HenryG” Greer called “too many strategic compromises” between kassad and Cloud9 in-game leader Alex “ALEX” McMeekin. While the details of kassad’s contract with the organization are unknown, the deal that brought woxic to C9 consisted of a three-year contract worth over $1.3 million.

• Kassad and C9 part ways after disagreement over styles

C9’s return to CSGO competition didn’t impress as the team bombed out of FLASHPOINT 2 in its debut tournament. While the team managed to make up some ground in international competition after the conclusion of FLASHPOINT’s second season, it was clear that the team needed more time to gel. 

The report comes on the heels of rumors that C9 had pegged former Gen.G head coach Chris “Elmapuddy” Tebbit to fill the now-vacant head coaching slot. Elmapuddy was seemingly released alongside the rest of Gen.G’s CSGO roster on December 15.

Xeppaa is best known for his time on Chaos Esports under the leadership of Joshua “steel” Nissan, where the underdog outfit made major strides in North American CSGO competitions over the course of 2020.  Xeppa amassed an impressive 1.18 rating to go with a rock sold 1.19 kill-to-death ratio over that time. But after steel’s move to Valorant and the subsequent release of Chaos’ CSGO roster, Xeppaa and his former teammates have been searching for offers. But with organizations such as Chaos Esports and Gen.G looking to be stepping away from the game, opportunities have been increasingly difficult to find.

As of now, Team Liquid is currently the only other team with an empty roster spot moving into CSGO’s 2021 season, which is set to start with the BLAST Global Finals on January 19.