Cloud9 drops its Dota 2 roster after 3 months

Cloud9 is already backing out of the Dota 2 scene. The organization released its latest roster this morning after just three months of competing and seeing no results. 

After essentially bringing back five players who at one point played for the organization in the past, C9 failed to win any of the three events they competed in. 

Of the four tournaments that C9 competed in after getting back into Dota, they never placed highly. Their best performance came at the BTS Pro Series, where they finished in fifth and took a series off of Evil Geniuses. 

Though it was a small sample size, going without a win at Dota Summit 12 and losing their first 10 series overall wasn’t a good look for the team. 

“Effective immediately, all members of our roster are available to be signed by other organizations,” Cloud9 said. “We would like to thank all members of the Dota 2 team for their efforts during these past few months and we wish them success with the next stage of their careers.”

Unlike other organizations that sometimes keep competitors on the inactive roster in hopes of getting compensation for their players while pivoting to a new roster, C9 outright released its entire active lineup. Along with that, Cheng “vtFαded” Jia Hao and Rolen “Skemberlu” Ong have been dropped from the inactive roster, too. 

This move seems to indicate that C9 has no plans to re-enter Dota this season, if at all. This was the org’s first attempt at a comeback since dropping its last roster in 2017, so management might not be eager to give it another shot anytime soon. 

North America is considered one of the weaker Dota regions, usually only hosting two teams that contend for a spot at The International and can keep up with other top rosters each season. As per usual, EG is one of those teams this season, despite some heavy roster changes. Quincy Crew, business associates, and CR4ZY are fighting for that second spot. 

Unless C9 is going after Quincy Crew or business associates in hopes of signing one of the other top NA rosters without an org, there doesn’t seem to be an opening for the team to make a smart move back into the scene.