Weeks after losing their partner seat, Cloud9 have a full lineup again, with FireBallOps the only player left from 2026.
Cloud9 have completed their roster for the 2027 VCT season with Torogul “alym” Baidyldaev, Derrek “Derrek” Ha and Christian “nightz” Smith. The organisation announced the trio on X on , writing that “the trials are complete”.
The three join FireBallOps and Conner “GLYPH” Garcia, who returned to Cloud9 last Monday.
Who is coming in
All three newcomers have played in VCT before.
- alym played entry duelist for FURIA and was on stage with them at Masters Santiago in March.
- nightz joined ENVY in the middle of the 2026 season and mostly played controller.
- Derrek has the longest CV of the group. He played for M80 and QoR in 2026, and before that for Rise and 100 Thieves.
Four out, four in
FireBallOps is the only member of the year-end lineup who stays. Zellsis and OXY have both landed at Sentinels, and Jackk and v1c were allowed to look for new teams.
| Out | In |
|---|---|
| Zellsis | GLYPH |
| OXY | alym |
| Jackk | Derrek |
| v1c | nightz |
From partner to open qualifier
Cloud9 missed out on one of the four North American partner slots for the next phase of VCT, so 2027 will be their first season outside the partnership since it began in 2023. The team finished sixth at Americas Kickoff in 2026 and did not reach the playoffs in either stage.
The new lineup’s first test is close. Cloud9 said they will play in the open qualifier playoffs on 20 November.
