Cloud9 divisions and players
The organization has held numerous divisions across the esport industry over its nine years of existence. They usually get in and out of some titles as needs dictate. Their presence has been felt in Overwatch and League of Legends, where they have franchised teams. Other non-franchised teams operated under the Cloud9 brand include Call of Duty, Battle Royale, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Halo, Dota 2, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike, Valorant, Smite, World of Warcraft, and Teamfight Tactics.
The professionally-run organization has a bunch of players coming in and going out at all times. They have an academy to churn out new talent continuously. Some of the most popular names on their professional roster include Skadoodle (Tyler Latham), N0thing (Jordan Gilbert), Stewie2k (Jakey Yip), EternaLEnVy (Jacky Mao), autimatic (Timothy Ta), and b0ne7 (Pittner Armand). These are top players and key earners in a roster that comprises over 100 players and the most popular esports teams. The company pays over $1,600,000 to players per year.
Growth and expansion
The instant success of the first LoL division encouraged Cloud9 to expand to other divisions. In 2014, they joined Smite esports. They created nine new divisions in 2014. Internal issues led to the disbandment of the in 2014 but it was re-established in 2015. Vainglory, the organization's premier touchscreen esport, was established in 2015. The organization became incorporated in September 2016, becoming the current Cloud9 Esports, Inc.
This growth saw Cloud9 become a famous esport team with over a million fans who spent a cumulative 15 million hours following the outfit's players. The net effect was an influx of sponsors. In 2017, the corporation benefited from $28 million in funding from the likes of Alex Ohanian, Hunter Pence, and Craft Ventures.
The Rocket League division was created in 2017. Riot Games reported the securing of a LoL Championship Series slot by Cloud9 for around $10 million in the same year. A major partnership with Red Bull in 2018 saw Cloud9 players sport Red Bull jerseys, among other agreements. They also received $50 million in another round of funding. They established a 30,000 sq. ft. headquarters and training base in Los Angeles, a move that saw them receive an esports company MVP ranking from Forbes. The company's value stood at $350 million in 2020.
