ZionSpartan rumored to fill out new Cloud9 Academy roster

William Davis Published 03/12/2020

Former CLG and Golden Guardians Academy top laner Darshan “ZionSpartan” Upadhyaya is reportedly joining Cloud9 Academy for the 2021 season.

After over a year spent on Golden Guardians Academy, it looks like the veteran top laner will move on to a new academy project at one of the biggest esports organizations in North America. According to rumors, ZionSpartan will play alongside talented players such as bot laner Calvin “K1ng” Truong and support Jonah “Isles” Rosario, and likely act as the leader of the young team. 

After the change of import rules for players from the OCE region, C9 looks to bet on Australian talent and ZionSpartan would likely be a perfect fit to help those players to find their way. ZionSpartan has been playing in the LCS for several years and won two trophies during that time, which makes him a great candidate to lead a team of inexperienced players.

C9 had great success with its Academy team in 2020, winning both the spring and summer split. No other team in Academy was able to take down the squad, which has now resulted in several players moving on to LCS starting positions. Top laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami has been promoted to the C9 LCS roster, while mid laner Cristian “Palafox” Palafox and support David “Diamond” Bérubé have joined FlyQuest. 

In the 2021 season, C9 will look to build up a new Academy team scratch and once again strive for trophies. The 2021 Academy season will be very different from previous ones after Riot has changed the format to include amateur teams as well. 

Who is Darshan in LoL?

ZionSpartan, also known as Darshan, is a North American top laner who has been playing professionally since 2013. He entered the LCS for the first time back in 2013 with Good Game University and has since become a common face in the NA scene. 

He is mostly known for his time with CLG, but he left the team in May 2019 to join the Golden Guardians Academy squad. It seems like ZionSpartan’s time in the LCS is over, which is why he will continue in the Academy league where his experience can come in handy for younger teammates. 

What role does ZionSpartan play?

ZionSpartan has been a top laner throughout his whole career and was considered one of the best in North America at one point. He is known for playing a variety of champions throughout his long career but has especially been noticed for his eagerness to split push. ZionSpartan was a big part of CLG’s first LCS trophy in 2015, where the team beat Team SoloMid 3-0 in Madison Square Garden. 

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