Photo Source: Lolesports
Cloud 9's previous support player steps in as head coach for the start of the new split.
Cloud 9's long standing support player, Daerek "LemonNation" Hart, has retired from professional play to fill a larger role on the team – C9’s new Head Coach.
This news wasn’t shocking to most, seeing as how LemonNation was always a front runner of innovative strategies throughout his professional career. He was one of the first in the NA scene to take picks and bans so seriously to the point where he had a notebook for his team’s strategies. He is also one of the most innovative players, often being the first player in NA to play different champions for the support role – Zyra and Morgana being 2 of the most popular, along with the likes of Nautilus and Veigar to a lesser extent.
The choice to promote from within also comes with numerous other perks. LemonNation has been working with the team for several years now and understands the system and has earned respect from both the organization and team. He understands how 4 of the current players operate in the game on a more intimate level. He has played a whole split with Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen and even longer with Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi, Hai “Hai” Lam, and An "Balls" Le. This can be seen as a bad thing due to him having more authority over his previous equals.
Conclusion:
Although it’s still early in the split, of their 4 games played they are currently sitting at an overall 2-2 record. The two losses may be due to change in shot calling between support players Hai and Michael "Bunnyfufuu" Kurylo more so than LemonNation’s coaching. Overall, this should be a really good transition for C9. LemonNation is an innovator of the game, has vast game knowledge, and is working hard to improve his team just as he was when he was a player.
