Cloud9 Esports, Inc., or simply Cloud9 (C9), is an American professional esports company based in Santa Monica, California. The company was originally founded as a professional League of Legends team by Jack and Paullie Etienne in May 2013 and was incorporated into Cloud9 Esports, Inc. on September 6, 2016. Cloud9 has received US$78 million in total raised equity via venture capital funding and was ranked the world's fifth-most valuable esports organization in mid-2022.
Alliance is a professional gaming and esports organization based in Sweden that was formed in April 2013.
Søren Bjerg, better known as Bjergsen, is a Danish former professional League of Legends player. He is best known for his 7 years from 2014 to 2020 as the starting mid laner for the Team SoloMid League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) team. He followed that with shorter stints as a head coach for TSM, and again as a mid laner for Team Liquid and 100 Thieves. Internationally, he won IEM Katowice 2015 and qualified to the League of Legends World Championship 5 times, but only advanced past the group stage once. He is best known as the greatest North American player for his individual prowess as a mid laner, where he was a perennial MVP and 1st Team All Pro candidate; he won 4 MVP titles, 3 playoff MVP titles, and 6 1st Team All Pro titles. He has never finished below 4th in All Pro voting, and is the current all-time LCS kills leader. He retired from competitive eSports in April of 2023.
Origen was a professional esports organisation based in Europe. Its main League of Legends team participated in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), the top-level league for the game in Europe. It was founded by Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martínez after his departure from Fnatic.
Team Impulse (TiP) was a professional League of Legends team that competed in the North American League of Legends Championship Series. The team was previously known as LMQ and was founded as a sister team to Royal Club that competed in the League of Legends Pro League in China. The team moved to North America on December 15, 2013, and competed in the North American scene. The team previously competed under the name LMQ iBUYPOWER in representation of their former sponsor iBUYPOWER. On December 26, the team rebranded as Team Impulse.
Gravity Gaming was a North American League of Legends team that competed in the North American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). The team was originally known as Curse Academy and was the second team of Team Curse. Upon qualifying for the LCS the team was required by league rules to rebrand. The team is based in San Dimas, California and plays games in the NA LCS Studio in Sawtelle, Los Angeles. The Gravity LCS spot was sold in December 2015 to former NBA player Rick Fox, who then rebranded the team as Echo Fox.
Team 8 was a professional League of Legends team that competed in the North American League of Legends Championship Series. On October 7, 2015, Team 8's spot was acquired by Immortals, which began competing under the new name starting with the 2016 Spring LCS.
Gambit Esports, formerly Gambit Gaming, is an inactive Russian esports organization owned by telecommunications company MTS. It was established in January 2013 after the acquisition of the former League of Legends roster of Moscow Five.
Kevin Yarnell, better known by his in-game name Hauntzer, is a professional League of Legends player who is currently a free agent, and was most recently a part of TSM Academy as their toplaner. He has also played for Team SoloMid, Golden Guardians, and Gravity Gaming in the League of Legends Championship Series.
Immortals is a professional esports organization based in the United States owned by Immortals Gaming Club. It was founded on October 7, 2015, after the acquisition of Team 8's LCS spot.
Zachary Scuderi, better known as Sneaky, is a professional League of Legends player, streamer, and crossplayer. He played AD Carry for Cloud9 of the League of Legends Championship Series North America until 2019. He won the 2013 Summer NA LCS and 2014 Spring NA LCS with Cloud9. Scuderi is also known for his cosplays of anime and video game characters.
The 2016 NA LCS season was the fourth year of the North American League of Legends Championship Series. It was divided into spring and summer splits, each consisting of a regular season and playoff stage. Regular season games were played in the Riot Games Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Lee Yoon-jae, better known by his in-game name Rush, is a South Korean retired professional League of Legends player. He most recently played as a jungler for Echo Fox of the League of Legends Championship Series.
Heo Seung-hoon, better known as Huni, is a South Korean former professional League of Legends player. He is currently an analyst for Riot Games in LCK.
Jason Tran, better known as WildTurtle, is a Canadian professional League of Legends player who is the bot laner for Shopify Rebellion of the LCS. He previously played for Team SoloMid, Cloud9, CLG, Immortals, and FlyQuest. WildTurtle played in the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2020 World Championships.
Jeong Eon-yeong, better known as Impact, is a South Korean League of Legends player for Team Liquid of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). Impact won the Season 3 League of Legends World Championship as a member of SK Telecom T1 K. He played for both Team Impulse and NRG Esports in the LCS, before transferring to Cloud9 in May 2016. Impact left Cloud9 after the 2017 season and joined Team Liquid, where he won four LCS titles before departing the team for Evil Geniuses after the end of the 2020 season.
Andy Ta, better known by his in-game name Smoothie, is a Canadian professional League of Legends player who was formerly the support for League of Legends Championship Series team Counter Logic Gaming. He has also played for Team Dragon Knights, Team Liquid, Cloud9, Echo Fox and Team SoloMid.
Ham Jang-sik, better known as Lustboy, is a South Korean League of Legends coach and retired professional player. After retiring from professional competition, Lustboy became a coach for Longzhu Gaming of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), before leaving to coach for LCS team Team SoloMid. He is currently a coach for 100 Thieves of the LCS.
Diego Ruiz, better known as Quas, is a Venezuelan League of Legends player who plays top lane for Bay State College. He previously played for Team Liquid, Team Curse, NRG Esports, and Tempo Storm.
The League of Legends division of Cloud9 (C9) is a gaming team based in Los Angeles, California, and competes in the League Championship Series (LCS), the top-level professional league for video game League of Legends in the United States and Canada.
