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North American esports outfit Cloud9 revealed on Sunday that they are disbanding their current Halo roster.
The organization wrote in a tweet: “Multiple trophies, years of dedication, and memories we’ll never forget. For all you’ve done for the C9 family – THANK YOU, C9 HALO!”
However, the team’s CEO, Shawn “Unit” Pellerin, assured fans that C9 are not leaving the Halo title, making it likely that they put together another roster from scratch.
The players who will be exiting the team are Kevin “Eco” Smith, Zane “Penguin” Hearon, Adam “Bound” Gray (who just joined the team in August), Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher, and American coach Emanuel “Hoaxer” Lovejoy.
Cloud9 are the fourth team to be leaving the Halo Championship Series (HCS) circuit, after eUnited, Spacestation Gaming, and Fnatic. The news comes despite a history of success in the title.
In 2021, C9 came in first place in the HCS Kickoff Major, defeating eUnited 4-1 in the final. They also won the 2022 HCS Series North American Regionals. More recently, the team finished second at the 2022 Halo World Championship, losing to OpTic Gaming in a close final that ended 4-5.
Many have speculated that the dissolution of the C9 roster marks the end of Halo esports, given that the team was one of the cores of the title’s competitive scene. However, Quadrant and Complexity are on their way to the 2023 Halo League, as the teams only just gained partnership in Halo Infinite’s HCS offering.
The HCS Kickoff Major has been scheduled to commence in February of next year.
