The C9ueens Gambit

Well, Cloud9 certainly knows how to make news.

Early Sunday morning local time, on the last day of the European RMR, Cloud9 just about broke CS:GO Twitter by announcing the signing of the entirety of what is now formerly Gambit’s roster.

The North American organization hasn’t had a team since early 2021, and now reenters CS:GO with a roster currently ranked third in the world and already qualified for the Legends stage of the major that’s coming up. Not bad, C9, not bad at all.

It’s worth noting that in addition to all five players the team has also acquired Groove, the roster’s coach.  It was even mentioned by Cloud9 owner Jack in an interview with the Sports Business Journal that choosing to sign the roster was clinched by the fact “that Groove would join Cloud9 as well.”

If there was any roster for Cloud9 to sign, this one was a good choice. Gambit has come under fire in recent months due to their ownership’s ties to the Russian government, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, causing the players to have to play under the neutral name Players.

Now, the players will be able to play under an organization’s banner again while Cloud9 gets an incredibly talented roster.

Nothing has been said about the costs of acquiring the roster, but it’s worth noting that the Sports Business Journal interview with Jack notes that “While financial details of the signings were not released, the deal was a negotiation between Cloud9 and Norwegian-based Ulti Agency, which now represents the players of Players.”

It’s also unknown where the team will be playing out of; in the same interview, it was stated that “Relocation of the team is currently underway, stay tuned. We will be looking to play any premier events available.”

While there’s no way to know how well this move will go for Cloud9, it certainly can’t end with more frustration than the last attempt the organization made and it does feel very Cloud9 to have the first tournament their new team plays be the Major.