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Cloud9 have announced the departures of Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov and Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov, who left for BetBoom Team.
The exodus of the Russian duo puts Cloud9’s future in the Counter-Strike 2 scene under question, as they have already lost Kaisar “ICY” Faiznurov to Virtus.pro in December, while Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko has been linked with a move to G2 Esports.
Boombl4 and Ax1Le were the final two members of the lineup Cloud9 put together in 2023, which featured some of the top Russian talent, including ex-Natus Vincere stars Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy and Denis “electroNic” Sharipov.
That roster did not last for long, as another major overhaul around Ax1Le and Boombl4 followed in July 2024, with the addition of ICY, Timofey “interz” Yakushin, and HeavyGod.
Since August, Cloud9 have attended eight tournaments and won just the Thunderpick World Championship 2024: European Series #2.
In higher-tier events, Cloud9 have never placed higher than ninth-16th.
At the tail end of 2024, the Russian outfit found more momentum and fought their way through Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 European RMR A with a 3-1 record.
But they failed to maintain their momentum and crashed out of the Chinese Major in 20th-22nd place with defeats against Complexity, Team Liquid, and paiN Gaming.
The lack of success already led to the departure of three players from Cloud9, with the Israeli rifler also nearing an exit.
If G2 Esports finalises the deal for HeavyGod, Cloud9 will be left with just two players, interz and Perfecto, although the latter has been benched since April.
Parting ways is never easy 😔
Today we bid farewell to @Ax1LeGOD and @Boombl4CS as they're leaving Cloud9 to join BB Team. You'll be missed 💙 pic.twitter.com/iKAWCWLu8Q
— Cloud9 CS (@C9CSGO) January 10, 2025
Shortly after announcing the departure of Ax1Le and Boombl4, the duo were revealed as the newest members of BetBoom Team, where they will replace Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov and Aleksandr “KaiR0N-” Anashkin.
At BetBoom Team, the ex-Cloud9 duo will team up with Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov, Pavel “s1ren” Ogloblin, and Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko, hoping to lead Artyom “RAiLWAY” Gradovich’s men to new heights.
Ranked no.27 on the world rankings, BetBoom Team found some success last season, specifically in the final four months, when they won CCT Season 2 European Series #8 and Series #12, as well as YaLLa Compass Fall 2024.
However, the early exit from Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR A ushered in some roster changes as BB Team looks to cement their status as one of the top-rated Russian Counter-Strike squads.
