EternaLEnVy’s Cloud9 breaks brutal losing streak at BTS Pro Series

At long last, Cloud9’s new Dota 2 team has found its way to a victory.

After stumbling out of the gate, Cloud9 has finally found its first series win. In the BTS Pro Series: Americas, the organization posted two series victories over Evil Geniuses and Furia Esports. This kicked a 0-10 skid to start off the team’s time with Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao at the helm.

The series with Evil Geniuses was spent on a knife’s edge. Game one saw the teams neck-and-neck for an extended period of time. The trades were even for the first 10 minutes, but once Evil Geniuses got an edge with a successful team fight they never gave Cloud9 a chance to recover.

Game two proceeded similarly, but with back-and-forth kills being swapped for 35 minutes. Evil Geniuses invested multiple buybacks into a team fight around that time, which left them open for a counterattack. That swung the momentum around and allowed Cloud9 to take the victory.

Game three was more methodical by comparison, with Cloud9 building up a lead as the game progressed. The looming threat of Artour “Arteezy” Babaev’s Gyrocopter was worrisome, but Cloud9 was able to post a straightforward win before he came fully online to seal up the series win.

While the win over EG was a tight one, Cloud9’s win over Furia was considerably easier. Cloud9 sprinted to a 2-0 victory in just 40 combined minutes of game time.

This likely feels good for the team, but their long-term prospects remain dim.

Cloud9 likely to make Dota 2 roster changes

Cloud9’s wins over EG and Furia are little more than moral victories for the team. Cloud9 has taken last place in every event it has competed in since unveiling its new roster, which is comprised of the following players:

1. Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard
2. Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao
3. Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu
4. Rasmus “MISERY” Filipsen
5. Johan “pieliedie” Åström

All five players are accomplished veterans and EternaLEnVy, MISERY, and pieliedie won the Shanghai Major together while competing for Team Secret. Despite that experience and past success, Cloud9’s return to Dota 2 has largely been a flop to this point. Even with these two wins, Cloud9 faces an uphill climb throughout the BTS Pro Series: Americas league.

Odds are that changes are coming. Cloud9 recently withdrew from the Dota 2 BEAT Invitational Season 9, which raises some serious questions about the state of the team.

It’s possible that Cloud9 will be able to gel into a serviceable team, but it’s doubtful that “serviceable” will cut it for one of esports’ most prestigious organizations.