1:02 pm | August 17, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
4:46 PM ET
Jack Etienne is on Cloud Nine.
The Cloud9 owner is in the midst of a banner year for his organization. His esports teams and their affiliate organization, the London Spitfire, are some of the most recognizable brands in the community and in the middle of arguably the best year for any professional team in the history of esports.
For Etienne, three highlights transcend the rest: C9’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team’s victory at ELEAGUE Boston, the London Spitfire’s championship season in the Overwatch Leagu, and the League of Legends squad’s up-and-down split in the North American League Championship Series.
The CS:GO was a historic, not just for Cloud9 but for North America. It was the first time a team from the USA took a major championship in CS:GO, and Etienne said that title is the highlight of his career. But despite that result, the team stagnated, and Etienne made the surprising move to reshape the roster and prematurely ended some players’ contracts.
“Sometimes you need to recognize that the moment passed and that the best thing to do was to step away gracefully — let the players follow their careers,” Etienne said. “It was about managing stars to keep their focus, and we didn’t achieve that after the major. They weren’t ready to recommit to Cloud9 even though they were still contractually with us, but I chose to let them pursue other goals.”