Cloud9 has made a big roster decision ahead of the big IEM Katowice Major. They will be moving recent stand-in, Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, as their head coach. Additionally, they will be bringing back in-game leader Maikil “Golden” Selim into the active lineup.
We are happy to announce that @Zellsis will be joining us on a trial period for #C9CSGO, starting at @iBUYPOWER Masters IV. Welcome to the team, Jordan! #LETSGOC9
Read more: https://t.co/eB9Nmzhqm8 pic.twitter.com/IyUbJxrVX4
— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) December 29, 2018
The reason for Cloud9 taking Zellsis as the head coach is to have him available as a substitute for IEM Katowice. Should Golden suffer from any health-related issues during the tournament, he will be able to slot back into the lineup. However, the one big drawback is that if Zellsis enters the roster, they won’t have a coach behind the team. It is an unfortunate circumstance that Cloud9 has had to deal with ever since November of last year.
Cloud9 Coaching Situation?
Beforehand, Cloud9 would go through a few emergency replacements for Golden. For BLAST Pro Series Lisbon, Ismail “refrezh” Ali would join the team in place of the Swedish shotcaller. Unfortunately, they did not find the success they wanted, placing in third. Cloud9’s current head coach, Soham “valens” Chowdhury, would also step in to play for the team during a few events. As many would expect, they would not win too many games with such a roster.
Additionally, Cloud9 has been looking to change up their head coaching role as well. Back in December, the team was linked to Kory “SEMPHIS” Friesen as their new head coach. According to Timothy “autimatic” Ta, SEMPHIS was with the team in Lisbon to test his compatibility with the roster. “Valens was not supposed to be our coach for this long of a period,” Autimatic would say in an interview with HLTV, “Right now, we are looking for a new coach to take over his place.”
Good Health and Good Performances
Zellsis will be going through a trial by fire at Katowice if Golden cannot stay in the tournament for Cloud9. However, it is a necessary precaution by the team, as they cannot risk Golden’s health. It has been a tough few months for the Swede, as he hasn’t been able to get any meaningful playtime with his teammates. The last time he played out a full tournament with Cloud9 was back at Season Eight of the North American ESL Pro League.
Cloud9 desperately needs practice with their in-game leader. They have gone through so many roster changes over the last few months and will need as many performances as they can get as a full squad. In November, Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey joined the roster on a permanent basis alongside Robin “flusha” Rönnquist, who joined in September. The former 2018 Boston Major champions look completely different, but the circumstances have not been kind to them.
Zellsis was last playing for Swole Patrol with former Cloud9 member, Ryan “freakazoid” Abadir. The team was actually looking great until its roster collapsed after a few key members would leave the team. First, Austin “Cooper” Abadir left to join eUnited back in November. This would cause Freakazoid, who was a founding member, to leave the team as well. Zellsis, another original member of the team, would then leave for Cloud9.
What are your thoughts on Zellsis moving to the head coach position on Cloud9? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more CSGO coverage, check us out here!
