Let’s get into the Cloud9 tier list that Twitter allegedly called “the only correct one.” Oh, the community surely had thoughts. Immediate ones. Those feelings! Literally before your morning cuppa is finished.
The tweet was simple: an image of tier lists for the VALORANT teams competing in the Champions tournament. And with a huge disclaimer: The Definitive Ranking, the only and single one. Imagine, for instance, one of these teams being Cloud9 itself, who failed to qualify for this very tournament in the first place. That set the online community exploding in replies. And something did explode!
Among the first comments, some were painfully obvious-the list of tier did not include Cloud9! Hello? @idklol17231: “Couldn’t even make it” followed by a crying emoji. Ouch. That burns. @rockyjajaja just asked, “Where is c9?” Fair enough, I guess.
An international angle came from @skyroxeting who replied in French, “C’est pour sa vous y êtes pas aussi,” which translates to, “That’s why you’re not there either.” Ouch. That burn clearly transcended language barriers.
But hold on! @CheddurO states: “Lost to mibr twice too yo,” a classic insult with a laugh. @gamr_cs continues the roast saying, “Not only did you lose to G2, you haven’t beaten that core since 2022.” Somebody’s been keeping tabs!
The list’s placements themselves were very controversial. @QueenGrumpyyy objected to the rank of PRX (Paper Rex), saying, “you’ve got to be kidding. prx in C? LOL.” Meanwhile, @iitzHadees also spotted another glaring absence: “Damn not even 100T is there.” That is, 100 Thieves, another big name that didn’t qualify.
Regional banter is creeping into the responses. @mayadotexe continued in Portuguese with placing all Asian teams in C tier, then erecting a new Z-tier for the European teams. International VALORANT community doesn’t take any blocking in these rankings.
What definitely spices up the whole affair is that Cloud9 is posting it while the Champions tournament is going on, watching from home. @glizzyval dropped a sort-of threat: “tweet during champs again and watch what happens. watch.” And @kontolatoss66 added: “mfs can only watch at home every year. 🥀🥀😭,” dead rose emoji fully applied.
And despite all the roasting, there were a few who liked the list. @AntiAquatic_ said simply “i like this”–although maybe in the minority. @Sonatine111 then went on to praise “Leo… the absolute goat. :P” with a heart emoji. Love amidst chaos.
What really cracks me up is the very thought of it. An org that didn’t make it to seasonal biggest tournament has decided to give all the teams that did qualify a ranking. Of course, it’s either the most confident thing anybody could ever do or the massive epic self-owning. Maybe both?
VALORANT esports has evolved, growing bigger and bigger, with a gradually expanding fanbase in recent years. People do not just being passive while inactive; they are ready at any instance to put the pros and orgs in the gutter. Its interaction-rich, reactive essence is much unlike conventional sports, and this Cloud9 incident just proves the same.
We have seen some hilarious interactions from teams on social media. But this tier list tweet though…this really rubbed someone the wrong way. Perhaps because it all went down during the tournament. Maybe because Cloud9 have lately gotten some pity votes. Or perhaps because everyone here has strong opinions on tier lists-especially coming from someone who didn’t make the cut.
At the end of the day, it’s all mostly in good fun. This VALORANT community is very much about joking around and roasting one another, and Cloud9 100% knew what they were doing when they put up that tier list. They already generated the conversation, engagement, and yes, a whole-lot of roasting in the replies. But that’s almost classic esports twitter, never dull-especially when it’s Champions season.
Whether you agree or consider Cloud9’s tier list utter garbage, suffice to say it put a spotlight on the topic. And in the world of esports social media, sometimes that is a win-win situation in itself. Now, excuse me, I’ve got to see if any of these roasts got fired back at.
