It was clear that the league was shifting as organizations were looking to improve their results by importing players and shuffling their rosters. But C9, ever the model of consistency, still fielded the same roster as their inaugural split https://zone5endurance.com/online-gambling-ruling-under-discussion/. Cloud9 finished the split tied for first place with LMQ — an all Chinese imported roster.
They then lost the Summer Finals to Team SoloMid who were playing their second split with European superstar Bjergsen. (Casting) After the Summer Finals, it was time for Worlds again. Where Cloud9 would make North American history. Cloud9 went 4-2 in their Worlds Group stage and met Korean powerhouse Samsung Blue in the quarterfinals. (Casting) Cloud9 lost that series 3-1 but became the first NA team in the LCS era to take a game off of a Korean team at a major international tournament. Sneaky was a driving force in the series, showing that he could compete alongside game’s best AD Carries (Casting) Cloud9 rode the momentum they had from Worlds into another post-season event at IEM San Jose, where Cloud9 and particularly Sneaky shined. (Casting) Their bursts of success on the international stage aside, the transition between Summer 2014 and the 2015 LCS season was certainly a changing of the guard for Sneaky and Cloud9. They simply weren’t the best anymore, Team SoloMid had knocked them off their pedestal and they weren’t going to let them take it back anytime soon. Cloud9 went 12-6 in the 2015 Spring Split, rebounding after a shaky first two weeks. They went into the playoffs with a first round bye and were second place overall behind TSM. But once again, they weren’t able to defeat Bjergsen and co. in the finals. "Speaking of wins for Team SoloMid, the Nexus falls, and Team SoloMid are the 2015 North American League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split Champions." Despite the veil of dominance being lifted from his team, Sneaky had stayed on course. He continued to show that he was the ADC to beat in the TSM and C9 rivalry. (Casting) Sneaky once again led all AD carries in KDA, and died less the any other bot lane marksman. Hai was removed from the mid lane prior to the summer season and replaced by Jensen, who was then known as Incarnati0n, a young European playmaker whose competitive lifetime ban was recently lifted. "I don't think the roster change was ever initially brought up by any of the players." "I think it was just Jack looking out for us." "No one really wanted to go out of our way to say, hey I think we need to change a player out here." As the 2015 Summer Split started, Cloud9 looked like a shadow of their former self. "The worst trend though was Cloud9 even after beating TSM with the first game of the split, Now sits at one and three," (Casting) "And Cloud9 once again find themselves on the short end of the stick here after actually playing a strong game." "But not finding the advantage that pushes them to the win just yet." "There's a lot of growing to do for this new Cloud9 squad with Incarnati0n instead of Hai." Despite the fact the Sneaky was still making big plays in the bot lane, the team went 6-12 during the split, their worst record ever, and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. "I'd say I definitely have thought of it more about like, not being on Cloud9." "Just because we're in such a bad spot right now." After the split, Sneaky did his best to show that what remained of the old-guard C9 roster could still compete. "Well I think the only ever time that it was talked about leaving, that was kind of a Riot pushed agenda." "I never really said it. It was just like, "You guys are doing terribly Sneaky, what would think about joining a different team." And I'm like, "Yeah we're like 8th place LCS right now."" They played in a regional finals gauntlet to try and secure the third NA birth in Worlds that year. C9 was coming off one of their worst LCS performances ever, but the gauntlet gave them a chance to remain a beacon for North America on the international stage. "To be able to bring it back and actually go to Worlds would be amazing for us considering our pretty terrible season." "As strange as it sounds. Call Cloud9 a Cinderella story, they could go on a miracle run to secure their third consecutive appearance at Worlds." (Casting) Not only did C9 win the regional qualifier and get a spot at Worlds, but Sneaky dominated. (Casting) To the surprise of most, Cloud9 dominated the first week of Worlds, going a perfect 3-0 against some of the best teams in the world (Casting) Prior to the 2016 LCS season C9’s persistence to keep much of their lineup together caught up to them. Teams like Immortals were boasting impressive imported talent in the likes of Huni and Reignover and just being consistent wasn’t going to be enough for C9.
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