C9 reportedly rebuilds LoL team, brings back familiar face
The North American esports organisation Cloud9 has reportedly made significant changes to its League of Legends lineup, letting go of Head Coach Alfonso "Mithy" Aguirre Rodríguez.
Alongside this, Bok "Reapered" Han-gyu is said to return with LCK Challengers Top-Laner Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu also set to join the team.
Mithy departs
Once more after a one-year stint, Mithy has announced his departure from the organisation. The Spaniard had taken on the role of Head Coach of Cloud9 for the second time in November 2022, with a previous stint at the organisation from December 2020 to November 2021 when he left for 100 Thieves for a season.
In his second term with Cloud9, the team showed solid results domestically with wins during the 2023 LCS Spring Playoffs and second place at the Championship. Internationally, they had reasonable performances for a North American team, finishing 5-6th at MSI and 12-14th at Worlds 2023.
The team struggled to meet the organisation's expectations in 2024 as one of the most successful franchises in LCS history. They only finished in third place in the Spring season and playoffs, prompting a change in leadership.
“It hurts me to announce that C9 and I have parted ways. While the team failed to meet its expectations, I have nothing but love and respect for the organization and its players,” Mithy wrote about his release on the social media platform X.
Another return
In good Cloud9 fashion, another former Head Coach might be returning to the team. According to a report by Sheep Esports, Reapered has agreed to a comeback after leaving the team in September 2020 having coached the team for four seasons at this point.
Under Reapered, Cloud9 had its best results on an international stage, finishing 5th-8th in both 2016 and 2017 at Worlds. With Cloud9, Reapered also won the title of coach of the split four times, before departing from the franchise league for a season to coach Sengoku Gaming in the Japanese LJL.
In a second report, Sheep Esports connected DK Challengers Top-Laner Thanatos to the team who would be replacing long-time C9 starting member Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami, signifying a new direction for the core roster.
The LCS just finished its Spring Split in late March with Team Liquid taking the final 3-1 against FlyQuest. In the Lower Bracket Final, TL beat Cloud9 with a clean 3-0 scoreline, eliminating the team from the competition. The schedule for LCS Summer 2024 has yet to be announced.
