For Cloud9, parting ways with their Valorant in-game leader, Mitch, has made a huge impact on the whole Valorant competitive gaming scene. To justify their statement that the 2026 season was about “going in a different direction,” the organization defined it in terms of “finding opportunity during trials.” Not many people really saw such a massive roster change coming and the reaction from the community was… let’s just say, totally different.
To express it in easier terms – Cloud9 made it really emotional with their tweet saying Mitch was their “guiding voice” and the one who spoke to them in the hour of their need. They are very thankful to him, giving him blue hearts and similar things, and at the same time, they are… just letting him go? I mean, what’s the situation in esports today, man? It is a complicated scenario, to say the least.
The players and fans are deeply divided over the news, and their responses are nothing short of wild. A Twitter user didn’t hesitate to call Cloud9 owner Jack a “clown,” while others are questioning the team’s decision to stay static when they have just started to win. xaib perfectly expressed it, “The issue is they commenced winning” – which indeed raises a question about the timing of all this.
Nevertheless, one of the most fascinating aspects of the entire saga is that people have in no time started betting on who the new IGL is to be in place of Mitch. The name of JohnQT is popping up almost everywhere, and a number of comments are either directly tagging him or using “C9 Johnqt” as if it was already a done deal. Then there is the whole situation around Vanity – a lot of replies are making jokes about Vanity returning, one saying “Welcome back vanity” and another going “Cant wait for vanity to get announced 😃😄” and, you just have to wonder whether they are being sarcastic or not.
There is a lot of confusion among the fans regarding the replacement of IGLs since, as othoudazz pointed out, “I do not remember any game in which he made bad calls. He even outsmarted fns in calling.” That is indeed a very strong compliment, and it raises the issue of the trials that Cloud9 held and their judgment. TempestKurox offered a more practical perspective saying, “A team that has not even qualified for champs should make roster changes realistically, no matter how close or wtvr they were to qual for champs” which… okay fair enough?
But the most baffling aspect of the whole event for most people is Cloud9’s player rotation policy, which is almost the same as replacing players one after another. collinytf articulated it perfectly: “Incoming Runi, Vanity, moose, or Jakee. Same rotation, same results every year.” And corndogz911 went ahead and almost prophetically stated “can’t wait to see mitch be added back again in few months” which I will not be surprised at all since, like vlr_rin said “-Mitch +mitch do not forget that this is C9” it sums up the whole thing nicely.
Moreover, the fans’ reactions are really incredible! Several people, even LionzbladeYT, are doubting the very existence of this roster. LionzbladeYT wrote “I am starting to think that this is not the real roster” with a confused emoji, and honestly, I am with him on that?? The whole scene looks chaotic, with TempestKurox admitting “Ibr I was chatting bs and especially after this leak I don’t have a f… clue what’s going on at Sen anymore” which is, in fact, the interrelatedness of all the transfers.
When you think about it, the timing of this one does indeed seem a bit odd. Cloud9 asserts that they discovered a chance during trials, which indirectly tells us that they might have already shortlisted a player to take Mitch’s place. tristanjokhoo floated John’s name for consideration when he speculated “Maybe the opportunity is JohnQT” while others are suggesting looking for Pacific imports or even tier 2 prospects. Still, there are fans like HimejimaShmegma, who are questioning the logic behind letting Mitch go but “keeping NeT on the team 😭😭” which makes one very curious about the strategizing behind their choices.
What is happening is that this whole mess has “Cloud9 chaos” written all over it, as the company keeps making these big, sometimes successful, sometimes… not so much, moves. As psyk0tics noted, “Idk why I didn’t expect this” which says a lot about how the unpredictable moves of these organizations have become somewhat predictable. They have actually developed a reputation of being somewhat erratic in their roster decisions, and this latest move has just strengthened such perception.
In any case, it is absolutely evident that the Valorant competitive scene continues to be a wild ride, with developments in esports drawing attention across platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
