C9 Fudge: ‘Zven and Berserker are probably going to be here by week 3, if I had to estimate’

Cloud9’s bottom lane duo, Berserker and Zven, are expected to return to the LCS stage by week three, according to Fudge, the team’s top laner. In an exclusive interview with Dot Esports following yesterday’s opening match of the Summer Split, Fudge predicted that Cloud9’s full starting lineup could return to action soon.

Related: Cloud9 to begin 2022 LCS Summer Split campaign without bot lane starters Berserker, Zven

Berserker and Zven have been ruled out of Cloud9’s starting lineup for the foreseeable future following a series of “lost passports and COVID cases,” the team announced yesterday. While a return date is not set in stone, it appears as though the team could be playing without two starters for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, Cloud9 is playing with two substitutes from the Academy level, K1ng and Destiny. The two Oceanic transfers have played in North America for several years each, but have not laned with each other since their time on Mammoth, an OPL squad that represented the region at the 2019 World Championship. That team also featured then-rookie Fudge in the top lane—one year before his full-time transfer to North America.

“I really enjoy playing with [K1ng] and [Destiny],” Fudge told Dot Esports. “They’re really open and receptive to criticism, which I really enjoy in a teammate. They also lighten up the mood and are really easy-going in general. I really enjoy playing with them. Obviously I played with them in Mammoth, so it’s sort of nostalgic. I think they’re really good players.”

Cloud9’s former head coach Nick “LS” De Cesare initially revealed information surrounding Berserker’s lost passport on his livestream earlier this month. LS initially projected that the process for applying to receive a new American visa would delay Berserker’s return until approximately week four of the Summer Split, however, Fudge’s prediction for a return seems slightly more hopeful. 

Berserker spent the entirety of the Spring Split at the AD Carry position for Cloud9, while Zven, the team’s former ADC, was meant to debut at the support position at the start of the Summer Split.

Besides Berserker and Zven, Cloud9 also reintroduced Jensen to the starting lineup during yesterday’s opening game of the summer. Jensen had not played for Cloud9 since the 2018 season when the team reached the semifinals of the World Championship.  

Cloud9 will return to the LCS stage later today for a matchup with Golden Guardians.