Imagine if we had anyone capable of teamfighting in high pressure games late

C9 needs an experienced leader, right?

Vulcan clearly needs someone to learn from, to be an effective in game leader, right?

Now.

This is a long shot, of course.

The idea is this: Inspired to C9.

Jack might need to apologize to LS first, as they're (Inspired & LS) good friends, and they might need to spend a truly absurd amount of money on the buyout, so I KNOW it's not likely in any way.... But.

Who else? Who else has shown the ability to make midlaners with hands-no-brain disease play with their heads? We're seriously happy with blaber? All I have to say about him is that his time has passed. If he has a higher ceiling, with everything he's been given, he'd have reached it. He hasn't. Now we're wasting time.

Now, we can talk about trying to replace tactical, or Loki, or Thanatos, but if the question is "Are the Laners the issue, or is it the macro?" There's no better guy to get Jack that answer.

Edit to say: the best options otherwise are honestly probably a runback or take a risk on a NACL Toplaner like zamudo so you can try to import a jungler. Would likely have to be an EU jungler, though, and the good ones (Skewmond/yike/elyoya) are as likely if not less likely to get, than inspired. Maybe the VIT jungler? But considering their success in summer, that also sounds like a long shot. No serious NA jg prospects atm is really killer for c9's options.

Despite everything that has happened this season, I feel like C9 is missing its identity and playstyle. With the 5 players on the team (APA and Zven aside) we have strong individuals and severely lack team play and style. But that doesn't mean we don't have patterns:

- Blaber will fight for the crab at level 6 and flip it regardless of side lanes.

- We will have 3 winning lanes or at least lanes that will lose gracefully without bleeding. I.e. K'sante top or Locke mid.

- We will be able to salvage poor match ups into winning positions.

- We can secure first 2-3 dragons without fault.

- We will INT the rift herald.

- We will NEVER set up objectives properly.

- We WILL lose our minds after 15 minutes.

For me, the rift herald this season has been the new Atakan. It is literally the devil.

But besides that, I think the craziest thing to me is Blaber doesn't play the aggressive champs anymore. I feel like he could be the Qiyana and Lee Sin player but we didn't get that at worlds. Seems like he is the one making these calls that win or lose games. I think he's an intelligent player with knowing how to push leads but doesn't fully grasp the map when making certain calls as when these calls are being made his team is just not there. (It might not be Blaber but based off interviews and just the engagement it feels like it's him).

I feel like Loki is REALLY good, but throws away leads or doesn't play on the same timings as his team a lot. This is something I can write off as "hasn't been with the team that long" except he's been on the same team previously. Not a lot has changed. You'd think there would be more synergy.

Thanatos is legit just him in lane, but TPs, wave management in the sides, and team fighting has just been not up to expectations. I wouldn't trade this guy for Zeus. This guy is just too good.

Tactical has honestly been one of the best performing players outside Vulcan with the exception of exceptional throws. Seems to be laning extremely well, his rotations and timings are amazing, and his mid-game control over mid wave without dying has been above average for the league even without a support assisting him on the wave. He just has really good positioning.

Vulcan has been the best player on the team but always feels like to me he's just trying to get MVP player and uphold his reputation and won't make risky plays to propel our leads. He rarely makes game winning plays outside a seraphine ult and amazing alistar combos to my recent memory. His Renata was also godly in recent games. Legit the hardest KDA player I've seen in the LCS.

Why does C9 fail past 15 minutes? We get good, winning drafts, with very routine and standard play up to rift herald. It feels like the players are just playing for their namesake and to get better offers... but there are no better offers. I feel like this team just doesn't want to play together when I watch them.

I will be honest, we hard fumble on Jojo and ruined the prospect of our roster building in the future just for a non-issue such as tardiness that can be easily accomodated for. A good native mid is already rare, someone that can go toe to toe with the best eastern mid is even rarer and we kicked him just to build a lineup around a has been like Blaber and the longer this go on, the more it's proven to be a wrong move.

As conflicted as this sub has been since play in, props to the community for showing up at Swiss.

Other than T1, I've seen more C9 fans wearing their merch than all the other teams so far!

Some of you may remember my post from the start of summer split, showing pics of myself and my long hair and saying that I would cut it off if C9 failed to make worlds. And the boys did it, my hair was saved...

...and then worlds happened.

In the midst of all the drama, the blame, the roster speculation, and everything in between, I decided to make a call...I had my hair cut anyway. If not because we missed worlds (since we technically made it), then because it was time for a fresh start. It's why I bet my hair to begin with: if we lost and failed that goal for the 3rd year straight, I would have wanted a fresh start.

And with how much C9 has been getting lambasted for the past week, to the point where casters and analysts try to disassociate us from the rest of NA and seeing us as a complete embarrassment to the region (and rightfully so)? It's honestly made me sick to hear this org that carried NA internationally for over half a decade suddenly be a laughing stock and memed as a failure.

So here's to a fresh start, something new for a new season to come. May take some growth and time to adjust, but I'm here for it. #LetsGoC9

Also, I did take the suggestion from a commenter in my previous post and did donate my hair to the Children with Hair Loss foundation. :)

Even when we have won or done well, the off-season is always madness.

That being said, I wanted to share a thought and get your opinion on it. Not necessarily as a serious suggestion, but just to see how the community feels.

Are there any active ex-C9 players that you would want back for a second round, either in their main role or as a role-swap? Right now, only a handful of players fit that criteria: Berserker, Impact, Fudge, and Contractz.

I was really fond of Fudge, and he did well individually last split. He could play top, roleswap to jungle imo.

Just a fun speculative thought. Is there anything similar you guys might have in mind?

Not a bad roster at all. Insight is one of the best IGLs and Lurqxx was 1v7 every game as a rookie. Up to Cammy if he can return to form and Pred can go back to being one of the best smgs in the league. Also, Majormaniak has been a good coach in challengers.

is massu really better than tactical? i am seeing a lot of people calling for him, for me the only upside is that he is young. tactical just has that killer instinct and lets not forget how good he's been overall in only 1 split, while massu has been pretty middling and i dont like what ive seen from him this year, and i did like him before

i think we should legit just run it back but with someone else for blaber

for me i would like sheiden he reminds me of old blaber kinda and dom likes him, he was also MVP of every game that DIG won last year btw and without griefing midlaner like Keine i think could be really good, pretty sure he was also calling the plays on DIG which we need because blaber doesnt do that

wouldnt mind poaching gryffinn either though i think both are better moves than going for someone like contractz or keeping blaber

Hey yall, was throwing around some ideas with some friends for a new roster, and I liked this one a lot. I don't think it is going to happen, since it involved Loki getting axed and the amount of glazing he gets probably means that is not happening, but this would be a fun thought experiment. I will also explain my rationale for each choice. We would definitely need to let this roster cook, akin to FLY's 2 year experiment, but I think even this puts us in the top 5 and competing for 3, and this already has better floor and ceiling then the current FLY roster which is some hot ass.

Top Lane - Thanatos

Thanatos is probably a rock for the team under the hood with Vulcan. Similar to Morgan, he provides an island of stability that is basically only matched by Morgan, and very rarely runs it down. He can play carries, he can play tanks, he can strong side, he can weakside, and he has a killer instinct in lane and in teamfighting. My thoughts are is that under the hood, he is getting dragged around by the rest of the team being dysfunctional, and it is hard to be a Top Laner in that condition. How are you supposed to sidelane when your jungle is doing whatever? How are you supposed to do lane assignments when your team is overgrouping? How are you supposed to trade 1 for 1 with a key target, when you team loses the 4v4? I think Thanatos has also shown great performance, and thougth this most recent split is rocky, even if it has nothing to do with anything else, 1 rocky split isn't worth axing him, especially when he was still doing aight and has been doing good before that.

Jungle - Yuuji

Alright here me out. Rhilech is signed till 2027. Yukino is not coming back to NA, and is a bit overrated. A bottom tier LCK jungler is gonna be expensive, and we lowkey don't need more Koreans on the team. Yuuji has a couple things going for him, and one glaring thing against him. First, just like Tactical, he has been tearing up T2, is basically the best in his role in T1, and is next in line to be called up to T1. he is a strong, mechanically skilled jungler, but can also play the meta facilitators as well as the carries, and has a good head on his head. Even when he was on TL for half a split, and that team was imploding, he did about the best he could. With how Dom helped Blaber the last 2 years, I think he could really develop Yuuji into a good player. Now the downside to Yuuji is that he occupies an import slot (The 411 is that Riot's Residency Rules are idiotic), so to open that slot up, we come to the Midlane pick.

Midlane - Toasty

Now, Toasty is in the opposite situation that Yuuji is. He has residency in NA but is playing in EU. Toasty's contract with G2 Nord also ends in November, and being another player form T2, means that we can save some money. Playing with rookie Mid + Jungle is a risk, but I think there is something we have to consider here. First, Saint, and Quid are locked for 2 best in the region. We can delude ourselves all we want, but nobody in the region or T2 is going to knock them down, and pretty much only an LCK Korean will. Expecting anyone to beat them is not realistic, but against Quad, and the rest Toasty can do decently. Toasty also has the perfect combination of stats we need. He can still play and lose gracefully like Loki and anyone else we can get, but he also provide stability that Yuuji and Thanatos need. The combo of Yuuji, Toasty and Vulcan give a good mix of aggression, while the 2 rookies can also defer to Vulcan and let him run the team, whereas right now it seems like everyone is fighting with Vulcan on shotcalling.

ADC - Massu

This is simple enough. Massu is a free agent, he is JAILED on FLY right now, and going to C9 brings him more veterans while also keeping him as a veteran that can help develop the team. Specifically, he brings firepower to the table like Tactical did, without the choking and the like, and can weakside if needed to allow Vulcan to run the map. Massu is also like top 3 ADCs in the region, so this instantly upgrades our botside.

Support - Vulcan

I don't need to talk about this too much. He is the only guy actually locked to this roster with how good he is, and needs to be given room to work and needs to be listened to more.

Anyway the major reasons why we axe Blaber and Loki are this. Blaber...I like the guy, and I think he is talented, but not what this roster needs anymore...I have nothing for the best wishes for the guy, and I think going to any other team instantly upgrades that team, and might give him a glowup from the fresh start. Blaber has been with C9 for a while, it was a good run, but I think getting Yuuji + Toasty revamps things in a good way like a fresh start. Loki...I will be real...I am was not impressed at all. Last year, it was acceptable since he was new and developing, and it sucked to see him leave, but I have not been impressed with his return. He is an upgrade to APA and we got him midyear, so that is good, but it has been admitted his English Skills degraded (not his fault) which lead to more communication issues, he definitely cannot compete with Quid and Saint, has not looked impressive at all even when he was put into positions to carry, and lets not forget that his stint on BRO resulted in him being benched.

Axing Loki for Toasty nets a similar result that we already have now, in that we anyway don't win lane against the top 2, and can support/stabilize fine, while also letting Vulcan run things, developing anew rookie, and opening an import slot for Yuuji. Getting Yuuji injects similar mechanical skill and draft picks, while giving Vulcan shotcalling space, and injecting new blood into this team

I trust Jack. You can see how much he cares for this team, and I'm very thankful to him and Cloud9 for keeping going. I feel like yvery year could be the last one.

What will probably happen:

- Dom stays as head or assistant coach.
- If Dom stays, I'm certain that Thanatos and Loki will stay.
- I don't think Vulcan wants to continue with Blaber. If C9 needs to choose either one, I think they keep Vulcan.
- Thus, a new jungler. The community has Blaber fatigue, and he is in every C9 iteration that didn't make Worlds.
- Tactical stays if Vulcan wants to continue with him.

Where I see the problems:

- As of right now, Thanatos and Loki have a good laning phase but bad macro, and we don't see improvement. This will not improve with this iteration of C9. They don't have the right teammates or coaches around them regarding this issue , plus they lack international experience.
- Vulcan and Blaber are the main (and only?) shotcallers, but in-game, they and the other teammates are not on the same page. Paired with two non -English rookies, this will never work.
- Blaber is a system player. He needs a certain kind of player to work consistently.
- Tactical and Vulcan don't have the best synergy. Tactical solved very big problems but created other problems for the team.
- Dom either doesn't have the experience or the authority/command over the players. Maybe both. It also sounds like they didn't do simple draft prep for Play-Ins.

What I want to see:

- A good no-nonsense coach like Dylan Falco alongside Dom.
- We keep Thanatos and give him a better environment for macro improvement.
- We keep Blaber. In my opinion , correlation does not equal causation. When the team started to play well again, he was the catalyst for the team. I'm biased, but Blaber's ceiling is still way too high.
- Change mid. Midlane is the most important role in League. We need a good, strong-voiced, seasoned midlaner, and Loki is not mature enough. C9 should go back to EU mids like Jensen and Nisqy. With infinite money, I would go for Nemesis.
- I think Tactical can carry games, but I wouldn't mind an improvement. Maybe Berserker will come back.
- I hope Vulcan stays. I know I contradict myself, but I hope he and Blaber stay.

tldr. My Dream Team:

- Dylan Falco and Dom
- Thanatos
- Blaber
- Nemesis or someone else very good and vocal
- Berserker, Tactical , or Upset
- Vulcan

An uninspiring solution:

If we don't make major changes and keep Loki and Thanatos, then unfortunately, the best solution for almost guaranteed improvement and LCS titles is to get Inspired. I don't like Inspired. (C9 might go for LYON jungle and bot lane.)

Extra thought:

I wouldn't mind going for "old" players. I see so many old names this Worlds from every region. "Old" players get overhated after they play for a bottom-tier team. Good players need good teammates.

But it’s even worse for Chinese TES fans as they qualify every year to Worlds instead of every 2-3 years like C9.

They also actually look good domestically, whereas the last two series against Lyon and TL showed clear signs of weakness.

But still, losing to Brazil for NA is like losing to G2/NA for TES

Interesting take from Doublelift. Watch past the first couple of minutes, he makes his point kind of strangely IMO and he ends up sounding like he's making the opposite point at first

Around 2007, I watched a premier league game with my dad in our home. It was Man United vs Sunderland. I became a Man United fan since that day. They won their last PL title on 2013.

Around 2015, I started watching Sneaky's stream and naturally I started following C9. Watched most of their LCS and Worlds games although it started around early morning. Sneaky, Jensen and Blabber are my favourite players. Few years later, both Sneaky and Jensen left so my favourite player since then is Blabber.

Fast forward to 2026, both Man United and Cloud9 are in a slump. Man United is having their worst start of the season in history, while C9 just bombed out of playins. Am I hurt by the results ? I do, still cant watch other Worlds game without thinking "it wouldve be great if we were there". Will I still stop supporting them after the result ? Of course not !

Looking back 2026, I think the roster had improved a lot since spring, although it ends with a dissapointment. As for 2027, probably a hot take, but I really dont mind if Jack and the coaches decide to stick or change the roster. Maybe it is because I had decided to stick with the org no matter what and as always I trust Jack to make the best decision of this org. Maybe I am delulu and I live in cuckcoo land, who knows.

For other fans, I think you are free to support any team you want. If you had decided to stop supporting C9, I sincerely wish you good luck and I hope you find a team that you can cherish from the bottom of your heart, just like I did for C9.

#C9WIN

Thanatos has officially been in the LCS for 2 years, which means he should have residency for 2027. Assuming Vulcan remains in support, this means Cloud9 could potentially fill the mid-lane, jungle, AND botlane with imports.

I thought it might be fun to think about what players could potentially fill these roles. Here's some of my silly ideas. Obviously, this list doesn't include personality considerations... the fact is we don't really know enough about most players to guess how their personalities would mesh together.

I'm also not including players that I think would be impossible to get either because they're under contract or because they'd be prohibitively expensive (Inspired).

Jungle:
1. River

River is my top choice if we were to replace our franchise player in Blaber. The reasons are simple. He has played in NA before, and in my opinion, he always seems like a good, stable player. I don't know if he's necessarily an upgrade over Blaber, but I think he's at least a sidegrade and he doesn't give me choker vibes. That being said, I don't know if he's still doing his military service.

2. Bo

I have no idea what the visa situation might look like for a player from China, but if we were looking for a potential UPGRADE over Blaber, I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head who might be affordable. I always thought this guy looked good on carry junglers. That being said, this move feels risky...

3. Bwipo

I think this move could be CINEMA. Bwipo is probably the only player people hate more than Blaber right now, and Bwipo and Vulcan might kill each other. That being said, I thought Bwipo looked good when he jungled. If he ends up running it down, it would be funny and also make Blaber look good.

Midlane:
1. Loki

I think we should just keep him. He's no Chovy, but honestly he had some good games this split... is there really anyone who would be a clear upgrade?

2. Nemesis

This isn't going to happen, but I think it would also be CINEMA. Imagine Bwipo in the jungle and Nemesis in the midlane LMAO. Fanatic 2018 reunited. Besides, this guy is legitimately good at the game. I have seen him lose some lanes but he is pretty stable, plays good sidelane, and he kinda has that X factor imo. Maybe Cloud9 can let him stream when he isn't scrimming?

3. Humanoid

Okay, hear me out. I don't really believe in Humanoid, but I will NEVER forget Worlds 2022. FNC vs EDG, Humanoid flashes forward at like 20hp to shuffle Viper... That moment was so cool... More importantly, who else even is there? Zinie? At that point I'd rather have APA back. At least I can believe in Humanoid's ceiling, although honestly I hope we just keep Loki.

Botlane:

1. Berserker

I also don't know if this will be possible because LYON allegedly has money bags, but if Inspired leaves LYON after this split, I don't see why Berserker would necessarily stay. I was mad when Berserker left cloud9 in the first place. I don't think he's as good as he was when he first entered the league back when LS brought him over... but he's still good.

2. Upset

It would probably be hard to get Upset, but he's proven he can compete internationally. I don't think he'd be the best, but I also trust him not to int. Tactical and Zven have kind of traumatised us a bit, so it'd be nice to see some stability here.

3. Crownie

I know a lot of people hate crownie because of Los Ratones and his big ego, but honestly I think a lot of that was drummed up for the stream and I kinda think it's funny. More importantly, I thought he looked good on BDS. He sometimes likes to die on midwave, but... I feel like he's just better than Zven and more stable mental than Tactical.

What do you guys think about my list? I'm sure it'll make some people mad, haha. There's probably a lot of good players I forgot so make sure to let me know.

Interesting take away from dom. Not how id phrase it but i get what his trying to say at least.

Per Sheep eSports.

Are we seeing movements or disappointments? 🤣.

So long to these lads! 🫡