Timofey “interz” Yakushin is reportedly about to leave Cloud9, with the team currently on the lookout for his replacement.
Cloud9 is looking to replace interz, reports claim
That's according to known CIS insider Alexey "OverDrive" Birukov, with sources confirming the information to HLTV.
According to HLTV's sources, Cloud9 has yet to finalise who exactly will be replacing their support player, but is reportedly considering a number of options.
The American organisation has yet to confirm the change, but sources claim that the list of candidates includes Sanjar “SANJI” Kuliev, Timur “buster” Tulepov and Igor “Forester” Bezotecheskiy - though HLTV notes that these are three of "many" candidates for the support position.
Of those three candidates, Forester is currently on contract with Entropiq, although he has been on the team's transfer list since October 13.
SANJI and buster meanwhile have been on the sidelines ever since they were benched by Virtus.pro in October and May, respectively. SANJI was replaced by Evgenii "FL1T" Lebedev, while David "n0rb3r7" Danielyan and Petr "fame" Bolyshev stepped in to replace buster. Since benching SANJI and buster, the team has gone on to some success, winning a Major title at IEM Rio under the name Outsiders.
If it turns out that interz is indeed set to leave Cloud9, it will mark the first time the team's lineup has changed since July 2020, and will mark an end to the longest-standing roster currently competing at the high levels of CS:GO.
The lineup has remained unchanged for the last two and a half years, with the last alteration coming in July 2020 when Abay "HObbit" Khasenov replaced Anton "supra" Tšernobai, in the team then known as Gambit Youngsters.
Cloud9 has no reason to rush to find a replacement, however. The team currently has nothing on the calendar until IEM Katowice on January 31, and even that is in question for the Russian-majority squad. While they are guaranteed a place based on their current standing in the ESL World Ranking, they may be prevented from attending due to Poland's decision to deny Russian citizens entry to the country from outside the European Union, due to the war in Ukraine.
A changeup to the Cloud9 roster might make sense, however. The team struggled in the second half of the 2022 season. While they made it to the semifinals at the ESL Pro League Season 16, they were knocked out during the quarterfinals during the Rio Major.
There's some changes on the cards for some of the biggest teams on the CS:GO scene. We'll keep you up to date on all the latest news as we look ahead to the BLAST Premier World Final on December 14 - be sure to sign up for your free account now and claim your 100% bonus.
