North American organization Cloud9 have practiced without Ricky “floppy” Kemery, multiple sources told Upcomer on Wednesday; inactive player Michael “poiz” Possis has practiced with the team in his place.
Poiz has played on Jett or Raze for Cloud9, while Erick “Xeppaa” Bach has played on KAY/O, the newest Agent in VALORANT, according to multiple sources.
Cloud9 is set to compete in the upcoming VALORANT Championship Tour Stage 3 Challengers 2 Open Qualifier, which will begin later this month. Cloud9 missed out on qualifying for the first Challengers event following a defeat to Rise in the round of 16. Cloud9 has consistently performed at the highest level in VALORANT with several successful results. The organization finished third in the VCT Stage 2 Challengers Finals following a defeat to Version1. Sentinels would join Version1 to lead the North American front at Stage 2 Masters.
Both floppy and xeppaa were transferred from Cloud9’s CS:GO division to their VALORANT division in April. The organization announced they would be listing their players to be available for transfer and temporarily ceasing activities in the Valve-owned title.
The team decided to focus on VALORANT, Riot Games’ increasingly popular first-person shooter. Since both floppy and xeppaa were talented CS:GO players, the organization was confident in their ability to perform at the highest level in another similar FPS title.
But following a loss in the Stage 3 Challengers 1 Open Qualifier, Cloud9 could be heading in a different direction.
If Cloud9 promote poiz and demote floppy, the organization would field the following roster:
- Poiz
- Xeppaa
- Son “xeta” Seon-ho
- Nathan “leaf” Orf
- Mitch “mitch” Semago
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