​2018 was a bizarre year for Cloud9. One could say it was the most successful year in their Counter Strike divisions history. How could it not it be? They made history when they were the first North American team to win a Major! Well the reason why the initial statement still would raise a few eyebrows is the absolute freefall they entered after that achievement. Stewie and later Tarik fled the team, Skadoodle hit career worst form and eventually retired, and for the bulk of the year they weren’t relevant at all in conversations about the top teams in the world.





Well, eventually they managed to pull a team together that could try to drag themselves back into relevancy, but to do so they took upon a huge transition towards a majority European squad. It’s quite the rag tag trio they've brough in. First you had Golden, one of the few in game leaders in the world that can say he was kicked from a team while being successful, flusha who had been experiencing career worst form in fnatic that finally lead to his kicking, and kioShiMa an undeniably talented player who nevertheless found himself on the outside looking in even with the French scene at its lowest.





As if Cloud9 hadn’t suffered enough hardships in 2018, they then had to deal with the extended complication of Golden being struck down with long-term health issues, and as a result have had to bring in relative a relative no-name from Swole Patrol as a stand-in called Zellsis. With all those factors considered, it’s hardly a shock that the question on many people’s lips was “Is this Cloud9 team going to be any good?”





Well against all odds early indications suggest that the answer is yes. Now it’s admittedly off the limited sample size of the iBUYPOWER Masters IV and the ELEAGUE Invitation, but the unit seems to have found a way to really get the best out of kioShiMa who seems to be their focal point. Alongside him flusha seems rejuvenated, which is made all the more impressive by knowing that he also appears to be in game leading in Golden’s absence.





A third huge positive to take is that autimatic’s transition from star rifler to main AWPer is going magnificently. I was sceptical when I first heard that he was planning to transition, but at ELEAGUE I was thoroughly impressed. It’ll be very interesting to see if he can keep this form up when opposition players gain a better read on his tendencies and preferred positions with the AWP, but mechanically he already appears extremely impressive. It’s certainly a good a start to the transition as any Cloud9 fan could have hoped.





All this has led to a fair bit of hype surrounding the new line-up and their chances in Poland. I’m not fully buying it though, at least not yet. For a start I think people are overrating their post-player break wins. They went 1-1 with fnatic, beat a BIG team renowned for their structure playing at the least structured I’d ever seen them after just having added XANTARES and not having had a chance to integrate him into the line-up, and went 1-1 in series against a FaZe team that I was simply not convinced by. Sure they could only beat what was put in front of them at the tournaments they attended, but I’m simply not seeing them as the great dark horse team at this Major that many others are touting them as.





For a start, I think it’s somewhat likely that over a long form tournament like the Major flusha's calls will be able to be figured out. At ELEAGUE he had the element of surprise in his favour, but by the time they reach the next stage of the Major they’ll be a significant amount of footage of his calls out there to be demo reviewed. I’m always sceptical of the longevity of success that will be able to be achieved when somebody who isn’t an in game leader takes over the role. I also think it’s fair to expect a drop off from autimatic with the AWP for similar reasons as more footage becomes available of him in his new role.





Finally, the biggest glaring hole in the team is Zellsis. To put it bluntly I just don’t think he’s shown himself to be good enough to play at this level. His CT play at B on Mirage looks like a particular weakness, and one I expect opponents will look to exploit. He hasn’t put in catastrophic performances, but he’s just looked a little in over his head and that’s shown on the scoreboard. I understand that it isn’t his job in this team to be dropping crazy stats, but he doesn’t seem to be showing up in much of a supportive sense either and overall I just think that’ll be just too much of an anchor for this team to drag through against high level competition.





Now all that said I do expect them to be able to make it through to the next stage of the Major, but I think they’re going to be making a far harder job of it than many are expecting. Their aim should be to reach the top 14 and secure their spot at the next Major where they’ll have their full squad back together.





Challengers Stage Prediction: 3-2





Other Major Previews:





(Image credit: ELEAGUE)