alovct
2022 North America Stage 2 ChallengersNorth America
XSET
OpTic Gaming
FaZe ClanCloud9 has officially announced the signing of Rahul “curry” Nemani after transferring coach Yoon “Autumn” Eu-ddeum and Son “xeta” Seon-ho to T1.
Our new 5th has arrived – welcome to the Cloud9 Valorant team @currydtx! #C9WIN pic.twitter.com/Heen8LMQyf
— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) May 16, 2022
What’s a team without a coach?
Welcome our newest head coach for our #T1VALORANT team, @AutumnKorea.
??♂️?? #T1WIN #TogetherAs1 pic.twitter.com/Ir6I8xYUjb
— T1 (@T1) May 16, 2022
It’s time to paint that blue, RED, my guy.
Welcome, @OfficialXeta to the #T1VALORANT Squad.
???♂️?? #T1WIN #TogetherAs1 pic.twitter.com/Mgnv4mboe1— T1 (@T1) May 16, 2022
xeta has been a part of C9’s Valorant roster since early 2021 and was an integral part of Cloud9’s domestic and international successes during the 2021 Valorant Champions Tour. The current Cloud9 roster with xeta managed to secure a spot at Valorant Champions 2021 after defeating the likes of XSET, Rise, and 100 Thieves. With xeta, Cloud9 placed a respectable 5th to 8th standing at Valorant Champions despite being the lowest-seeded North American team, performing better than Team Envy (now OpTiC Gaming) and Sentinels, who failed to make it past the Group Stage.
During the 2022 North American Valorant Champions Tour, Cloud9 was touted as one of the strongest teams in the running. Earning automatic qualification to the Closed Group Stage of Challengers 1, Cloud9 dominated the competition and went undefeated, only dropping four maps in five games. They would lose their first bracket match against OpTiC Gaming and eventually lose against The Guard in a 0 – 3 sweep, missing out on the first international tournament of 2022.
This announcement comes just after Cloud9 defeated Evil Geniuses in their week one matchup of Challengers 2 Closed Group Stage. This mid-tournament roster change was due to Cloud9 failing to add curry before the roster lock, meaning that Cloud9 had to play their first matchup with their Challengers 1 roster. curry will make his Cloud9 debut during their week two matchup against OpTiC Gaming, according to a report from Dot Esports.
T1’s 2022 VCT journey started with high hopes and expectations but failed to make impactful runs in Challengers 1 and 2. The organization could not fight through the Open Qualifiers in both runs, losing to teams like NYFU, Virtuoso, and Knights. Their recent disappointing run in Challengers 2 means that their 2022 VCT run is officially over, and they are currently looking to rebuild their roster with new players. The move to sign Autumn was in light of T1 announcing that they were parting ways with long-time head coach David Denis.
Today, we bid farewell to @DavidDenisnd as Head Coach for #T1VALORANT.
Thank you for your contribution to this journey with us and recognizing the importance of mental health in esports.
Best of luck to you, David! pic.twitter.com/RorS8rfgsX— T1 (@T1) May 13, 2022
curry’s time at T1 has failed to make it to deep runs in the 2021 and 2022 VCT seasons. He has been the only consistent part of the T1 roster after seeing multiple roster shifts and personnel changes during his tenure at T1. curry will be looking for a fresh start after seeing his former teammates succeed after leaving the organization. Such as Ha “Sayaplayer” Jeong-woo moving on to The Guard and winning Challengers 1 and Johann “seven” Hernandez signing to TSM and qualifying for Challengers 2 Closed Group Stage. curry’s best placing with T1 was back in 2021, during Stage 3 Challengers 2, where they failed to make it to the playoffs stage and just finished outside of the top four.
This announcement has sparked controversy in the Valorant community as many people speculated that T1 was planning to move to the Korean VCT circuit after signing two xeta and Autumn. But T1 CEO Joe Marsh has stated that the organization will continue to compete in North America, dispelling the recent rumors.
Welcome to @OfficialXETA and @autumnkorea to T1! Our focus is on staying in North America for Valorant and I’m excited to add two huge pieces to that puzzle. https://t.co/pNk0LyHlVL
— Joe (@JoeMar) May 16, 2022
The roster of Cloud9 is now:
- Rahul “curry” Nemani
- Erick “Xeppaa” Bach
- Anthony “vanity” Malaspina
- Nathan “leaf” Orf
- Mitch “Mitch” Semago
- James “JamezIRL” Macaulay (Coach)
The roster of T1 as of now:
- Joshua “steel” Nissan
- Son “xeta” Seon-ho
- Zander “thwifo” Kim
- Josh “pwny” VanGorder
- Yoon “Autumn” Eu-ddeum (Head Coach)
- Dakota “Stunner” MacLeod (Assistant Coach)