LS Released By Cloud9

At the beginning of the 2022 Spring Split Cloud9 announced the acquisition of none other than Nick “LS” De Cesare who is known for his taste in unique League of Legends picks and off-brand drafting.

Finally, the LCS was interesting to watch again, with TSM imploding and Team Liquid struggling early due to visa issues. This was the perfect time for C9 to shine and they did… in the first two weeks of the Spring Season.

C9 Release LS Shortly Before Game 5 of LCS Spring Split

The title already says it all. Just a few hours prior to their game against struggling Counter Logic Gaming, the team was informed that head coach LS would be released and that Max Waldo was promoted to head coach.

Understandably, the team looked awful in their loss against CLG – though tehir struggle was also a product of their draft. The release of LS means that he was only coach of the team for two weeks. In those two weeks, he showed off unique picks like Ivern and Soraka mid, as well as Zilean in the mid lane. No Renekton to see here.

Fans were true believers in the church of LS and his wacky picks. It made watching the LCS extremely exciting again, and many fans who have since switched to watching the LEC have even tuned in to the LCS once more.

Why Was LS Released?

There has been no official reasoning behind why he was released, though in an interview with Travis Gafford, C9 mid laner Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami, did state that there were some problems and issues, which was why he was not all too surprised about the release.

He also went on to explain that overall, the team will have to work on preparation for game days and that those are concerns unrelated to LS and his departure though. Will C9 be able to continue their exciting gameplay even without LS?

Has LS Responded to His Release?

LS did send out a response on Twitter stating that he was informed only four hours before the game against CLG of the decision to release him. He also explained that he “set out to show some things were possible” and that he “feel[s] satisfied that the team and players were able to showcase”.

LS will likely return to South Korea, where he was an active streamer before moving to LA to start his coaching job for Cloud9. Whether he goes back to streaming or finds a new coaching job has not been revealed.