If Cloud9 moves Fudge top, who’s playing mid next in the LCS?

Big changes might be coming to Cloud9 before the team enters the upcoming 2022 LCS Summer Split.

The offseason has started for the teams who won’t play at the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational and the first to be affected by rumors is C9. According to a report by Upcomer, the organization is looking at swapping mid laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami back into the top lane after just one split. This would leave Park “Summit” Woo-tae without a position, and he would have to find a new team before the next split starts.

It has also been reported that C9 is exploring new options for its support position, where both Kim “Winsome” Dong-keon and Jonah “Isles” Rosario have tried to find success in this split with inconsistent results. To take over in the support position, it’s rumored that C9 Academy bot laner and veteran pro Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen could be role swapping to fill out the position after a split spent outside of the LCS.

Even though Cloud9 did well during the spring regular season, it went out with a boom in the playoffs after losing 0-3 to Evil Geniuses. The reported changes seem to be a direct response to the disappointing playoffs result.

Who will be C9’s mid laner in the 2022 LCS Summer Split?

For many, Fudge has been considered a solid mid laner in his first split in the new position. C9 experienced a lot of inconsistency when it mattered most in the playoffs, and import top laner Summit especially was exploited by C9’s opponents. Despite Summit winning the regular-split MVP award, it doesn’t seem to be enough to keep the spot as Fudge should be able return to shape in the top lane fairly quickly. 

Fudge moving back into his old role means that a spot will be open in the mid lane. C9 is reportedly looking at several options for its mid laner position, one of them being to re-sign former C9 mid laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. This doesn’t seem likely now as Nisqy is likely to be joining MAD Lions, leaving C9 with potentially promoting C9 Academy mid laner Jouhan “Copy” Pathmanathan. 

C9 will still have the option to import a new player for the mid lane, so looking towards Europe or Korea for another player is an option for the team. 

While C9 has made no changes official as of yet, it’s expected that more news will drop in the coming weeks.