To everyone’s surprise, El Diablo parts ways with Cloud 9. This is official news even though it is a little hard to believe. It is official. Cloud 9 Valorant has revealed that they have released Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker from the roster.
This move comes after earlier reports that the organization was considering roster moves. Cloud 9 is weighing its options in terms of making changes to the roster. This is also after an early exit at the VCT LOCK//IN event in Brazil according to a report from Dotesports.
Cloud 9 yay leaving the organization may just be the start of more to come. Cloud9’s early exit may have been the cause of the roster revamp.
El Diablo is Up for Grabs
El Diablo is in the prime of his career which is why this move is shocking to most fans. Yay dominated Valorant in 2022 with OpTic Valorant and was expected to do the same with Cloud9. He even earned the title of esports player of the year courtesy of the Esports Awards.
Chamber, the agent where yay rose to prominence was his bread and butter during his successful runs with OpTic. Riot nerfed Chamber to the ground over the last few months. It also meant yay was likely to adjust to a new agent.
This was exemplified in their opening match victory against Paper Rex when yay played Sage. It was also in addition to his bread and butter, Chamber.
At the end of the series, it was Nathan “leaf” Orf and Erick “Xeppaa” Bach who was in the starring role for Cloud9 according to VLR.gg.
The team has had little practice together given this was the first international event. It’s also the first event since the partner program saw him make the move to Cloud9. Despite a good start with their win over Paper Rex, they fell short in a 2-1 loss against DRX.
Cloud 9 Plans for the Future
In the video announcing the change, head coach of Cloud9 Valorant Matthew “mCe” Elmore said, “there’s a chance that this won’t necessarily make us better in the short term.”
According to their head coach, Cloud9’s primary goal is “moving towards the future”. They also want to make sure that everything is working for the long term. So we might have to take a step back a little bit before we can take steps forward.”
It certainly was a hard decision for mCe due to yay’s undeniable talent, but he stands firm with his choice of releasing yay.
The team is now holding tryouts for a replacement. However, mCe stated that more changes to the roster could come in the future. If you want to see more news, check out our news articles on the website. You can also follow us on social media channels to get gaming and esports news faster than ever.
