In one of the biggest bombshells of free agency so far, Jacob Wolf of ESPN is reporting that Cloud9 will sign TSM bot laner, Jasper “Zven” Svenningsen. Zven replaces Cloud9 legend Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi, who was with the organization since its inception.
Sources: @Cloud9 are finalizing terms with former Team SoloMid AD carry @LoLZven, league sources told ESPN. Zven will join @Vulcanlol in Cloud9's new bottom lane.https://t.co/LUddwx3cIR
— Jacob Wolf (@JacobWolf) November 19, 2019
This is a big move for Cloud9, who shore up an important part of their roster after the uncertainty that has so far surrounded the team’s starting bot-laner, Sneaky. Zven comes in with big shoes to fill as the team’s first fixed bot-laner aside from Sneaky in its LCS history.
Zven joined TSM for the 2018 Spring split, alongside standout support Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez, who he had teamed with since 2015 on Origen and G2 Esports. Brought in to replace LCS legend Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, TSM did not achieve the results they had hoped to with their new star bot lane. After three straight split championships prior to the acquisition, TSM has failed to win a single split since. Meanwhile, Doublelift has won four straight splits with Team Liquid.
A new future for Cloud9
Cloud9 themselves have not championed a split since 2014. The team will look to buck that trend with its new-look roster. That roster includes Zven, top-laner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie, jungler Robert “Blaber” Huang, and last year’s big acquisition, mid-laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. Joining Zven in the bot lane is expected to be former Clutch Gaming (now known as Dignitas) starting support, Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme. It was reported earlier today that Cloud9 would be acquiring Vulcan from Dignitas for a $1.5M buyout and academy bot-laner Johnson “Johnsun” Nguyen.
Cloud9 is also expected to announce a blockbuster trade where they’re reportedly sending 2019 Summer split MVP, Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, former starting support, Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam, and academy members, Ziqing “Kumo” Zhao, and Matthew “Deftly” Chen, to the returning Evil Geniuses organization. Despite the wide-ranging changes, the Cloud9 roster as it looks right now should still be competitive in the LCS.
