The Rise and Fall of Cloud9 CS:GO — From Major Champions to Colossal Collapse

In a scene where many organizations often don’t stand the test of time, Cloud9 were a rare consistent presence in North American Counter-Strike over the last six and a half years.

Since their Counter-Strike debut in 2014, C9 has been home to many of the region’s best players like shroud, n0thing, Hiko, Skadoodle and of course Stewie2K.

Cloud9 began their competitive journey in CS:GO at one of the esport’s most prestigious events: ESL One: Cologne, in 2014.

And at times, they’ve been NA’s top team. In their crowning moment, prevailed as underdogs to become the region’s first team to ever win a CS:GO Major. But that euphoria didn’t last.

After their Cinderella run in the ELEAGUE Boston Major in 2018, the team’s performance dropped off a cliff, and the roster fragmented.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic put North American teams in a catch 22. Cloud9 moved operations across continents to keep the team competing against Counter-Strike’s very best.

But after a slew of bad results and lackluster performances, it just wasn’t enough.

Here is The Rise and Fall of Cloud9 CS:GO.

Written by: Charlie Howard (@CharlieHoward_)
Edited by: Yovcho Yovchev (@yovchonikolaev)
Graphics and thumbnail by: Adam Fitzsimmons (@Adam_Fitz_)
Supervising Producer and Narrator: Colin McNeil (@McNeilColin)

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Footage sources: https://pastebin.com/KaTmSaVz