Cloud9 recruit academy roster

Cloud9 have announced the signing of a Russian academy squad, with Ivan “⁠F_1N⁠” Kochugov taking up the coaching position.

Most of the players have little to no experience at the level of Counter-Strike covered by HLTV, with Vladislav “⁠H1te⁠” Khait having recorded the most maps played at 62.

F_1N, who previously coached the main roster, will coach the academy

As part of their statement, Cloud9 said that their intention is for the team to “get competitive experience and with time to establish itself as a top 30 team in the world.”

Cloud9‘s CS:GO Manager Aleksandr Shcherbakov provided HLTV with further insight, stating that there were three main reasons for the creation of the team.

Firstly, the opportunities provided by the Cloud9 organisation, combined with the coaching staff’s experience putting together rosters from scratch, made the prospect of building another squad appealing. Secondly, Cloud9 Academy will be able to participate in events the main squad are unable to attend. Lastly, the academy players will be able to act as substitutes to the main team.

Shcherbakov also confirmed that the team would like the opportunity to play in the WePlay Academy League, but that it would be the organiser’s decision whether or not to invite the squad to participate.

Cloud9 Academy are:

Russia Maksim “⁠dekz⁠” Korolev
Russia Vladislav “⁠H1te⁠” Khait
Russia Daniil “⁠alpha⁠” Demin
Russia Matvey “⁠sm3t⁠” Gogin
Russia Artem “⁠sstr1ct⁠” Mesnyankin

Russia Ivan “⁠F_1N⁠” Kochugov (coach)

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