In less than a month, Cloud9 is down two roster members, with Vanity the latest to be leaving. 

On February 23, Max Katz broke the news that yay would be leaving Cloud9 after five months with the organization. With yay considered one of the best Valorant players in the world, this breakup was quite a surprise. 

Sources: vanity will not be part of C9’s active roster moving forward. The team will now have to fill 2 spots before VCT Americas start on April 1st.#VCT pic.twitter.com/jtGqeHuq2R

- Max Katz (@purest) 7 Tháng ba, 2023

Cloud9 fans are in for another one, as Max Katz has just broken the news that vanity is also leaving. 

Vanity has been with Cloud9 since August 2021 and serves as its Captain. Yay’s departure left Cloud9 with quite the void to fill, but now they’ll need to fill in two roster slots and designate a new team leader. 

Short-Term Risks, Long-Term Gains?

After a disappointing early departure from the VCT//LOCK-IN following their defeat at the hands of DRX, a Dotesports report suggested that Cloud9 was contemplating serious roster changes. 

An update on the Cloud9 VALORANT roster pic.twitter.com/DFVmZm3Cav

— GIÁ TRỊ Cloud9 (@C9VAL) 1 Tháng ba, 2023

After yay’s departure, Cloud9 posted a short video on their Twitter of CEO Jack Etienne and Head Coach Matthew Elmore explaining the decision. Cloud9 has suffered from some role issues even prior to this season, and these are problems they’re hoping to fix sooner rather than later. With the VCT Tour more competitive than ever, it’s crucial that organizations hash out any roster issues early on or risk getting stuck in a rut.

While Cloud9 states that yay did still perform well during his time with the organization, Cloud9’s role issues remained unsolved, and expectations are presently unmet. As a result, Cloud9 decided to mutually part ways with yay. As of this time, there has been no explanation as to why vanity will be leaving the organization, but it’s possible this breakup is an additional effort in attempting to fix their overall role issues.

Cloud9 is currently hosting tryouts and will need to fill its empty roster slots before March 26, when the Americas League begins.