After the sudden departure of Nick “LS” DeCesare from his position as Cloud9’s coach last weekend, many fans felt the Cloud9 LS statement lacked details.
After several days of radio silence, outside of contextual clues from Cloud9 players and the speculation of community figures, Cloud9 explained LS’ sudden release in a video. Many fans come out of the other side of the Cloud9 LS statement without much more context than they had before.
Cloud9 LS statement cites “differences” in approach
In the
video
posted to Cloud9’s various platforms, CEO Jack Etienne addressed the community’s curiosity and worry following the unexplained dropping of LS.
In the first minute of the video, Etienne said that Cloud9 has spent years building systems on how to coach their team and that LS was unable to see eye-to-eye with the team and team management on that process.
According to Etienne, these differences had been attempted to be solved over several weeks but eventually compromise seemed unattainable. In his stead, Max Waldo has been promoted to head coach for the foreseeable future. Many fans found LS leaving especially bizarre since so much of Cloud9’s identity that year had sprung from his suggestions.
https://youtu.be/j5-H_UKtM5M
Two of the team’s coaches, including Max Waldo, came on LS’ recommendation. Additionally Berserker and Summit were suggested by LS, with him already having a rapport with top laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami. It does seem, given the testimonies of several players in the video, that this was a decision made by the entire LCS team and not management.
In the wake of LS’ departure, Cloud9’s LCS roster has failed to recapture the playstyle from their early matches that excited so many fans.
LS responds to Cloud9 statement
In a stream, LS stated that he can’t say too much legally. There are many questions fans have that LS can’t answer. But he did note that he has a different perspective of Blaber as a player after stepping away from Cloud9.
“I had a perception that wasn’t reflective of how he is in private. And I think that’s awesome. Blaber really, really does think about the game a lot but he’s super malleable,” LS said. “He can soak things in like a sponge. And he’s really, really mechanically good.”
Nicholas James
About Nicholas James
Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.
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