After announcing its return to Rainbow Six Siege earlier this year, Cloud9 has finally unveiled its new lineup, which features notable, experienced tier-one players.
The R6 ecosystem has changed drastically since the organisation last played in 2021, however, Cloud9 is seemingly determined to return to the R6 scene with a bang.
Cloud9’s new line-up to kickstart its return to the R6 scene includes:
- Mitch ‘Dream’ Malson
- Jesse ‘Gity’ Auger
- Elian ‘Kobelax’ Rodriguez
- Jaiden ‘Packer’ Franz
- George ‘Silent’ Hernandez
Cloud9’s history in the R6 esports scene up dates back to 2018, and saw activity up to 2021. The organisation’s last recorded game was a show-match in R6S China Community invitational, where the team won 3-0 against Chillax.
Over the years, the organisation achieved success in the APAC region. Its notable achievements include competing in the Six Invitational back in 2021 and winning DreamHack Montreal 2018.
Given that the team is now representing North America and four years have passed, it’s no surprise to see that none of Cloud9’s original players are involved in some capacity. Some have been noticeably absent from the R6 competitive scene in recent years, while others like Kim ‘EnvyTaylor’ Seong-soo are still active as coaches.
Can Cloud9 Make a Comeback in R6?
Cloud9’s team isn’t randomly assembled. Gity, Kobelax and Packer were all former members of MKERS who competed in the 2024 season. The trio also competed in last year’s BLAST R6 Major Montreal, albeit with Packer and Gity at CL4L and Kobelax with Dark Zero.
The rest of the team have had their own share of success. Dream placed in the top four of this year’s Six Invitational while playing with Unwanted. Last year, Silent also competed for Luminosity and qualified for the 2024 Esports World Cup.
The only question that remains is how this team will perform as a complete squad. Moreover, will Cloud9 achieve similar success as it did back in the past? Fans won’t have to wait long, as the new team will debut at the R6 RE:LO:AD tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, running from June 8th to 18th, 2025.
