It’s been a middling few years for NA fan-favorites Cloud9. Since their 2023 Spring Championship win, they’ve hovered steadily around the top of the standings, but haven’t been able to bring home another trophy. And after a solid 2025 saw them get tantalizingly close to besting FlyQuest in Split 2’s 2-3 finals, C9 has announced a few key adjustments going into the coming season. With some shuffling around in the coaching staff, and a surprising addition in the midlane, C9 may have a shot in 2026.

That addition is that of midlaner Eain “APA” Stearns, a love-him-or-hate-him player known for his signature trash talk and signature picks, excelling on champions like Ziggs and Aurelion Sol. C9 bringing in APA was highly unexpected, given the standout performance last year from talented Korean midlaner and Rookie of the Year, Lee “Loki” Sang-min. But after Loki’s departure was announced, citing personal reasons, the hunt for another player in a long line of C9 midlaners began.

Returning to form

APA is coming off of a 2-year stint on Team Liquid, where he was promoted suddenly mid-split from their NACL team and thrust into a heavily Korean-speaking roster back in 2023. Since then, his singular pool and personality have both made him a standout figure in the league, not to mention the two championships he won with TL. However, 2025 ended on a low note for APA and TL, dropping out of playoffs early in a 5th-6th finish.

On Cloud9, APA has the opportunity to return to form as one of NA’s best newer faces in the midlane. Besides APA, Cloud9’s roster of players remains the same as the 2025 team. That includes carry toplaner Park “Thanatos” Seung-gyu, as well as C9’s long-time veteran core of jungler Robert “Blaber” Huang, botlaner Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, and support Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme. Blaber has been on Cloud9 for seven consecutive years, while Zven and Vulcan have played together before as a bot duo on Cloud9, as well as having spent time in another role and on other teams, respectively.

Coaching Staff Shifts

The other critical change in C9 comes in the coaching staff. Summer 2024 saw the return of C9 veteran coach Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu, who had headed the team from 2016 to 2020. Reapered is out yet again, and in his stead as head coach, Assistant Coach Nick “Inero” Smith, who joined Cloud9 last year, is being promoted. Inero has a reputation of truly elevating rosters, having found unexpected success during his time at Golden Guardians.

Moving to a strategic coach position to support Inero is another figure who supported Cloud9’s staff in 2025: Christian “IWDominate” Rivera. One of the English LoL scene’s most popular competitive costreamers, IWD split his time last year between his new position remote coaching C9, and his continued coverage of various leagues. Now, IWD is set to remain with C9 in-person as a strategic coach for the year, and will likely focus less on streaming activities as a result. Known for his years and years of experience in the scene, IWD debuted as a player over a decade ago. In his time as a streamer, he’s particularly known for his highly analytical approach to drafting.

With the addition of APA, as well as the new coaching positions of Inero and IWDominate, Cloud9 is poised to have a roster largely resembling last year’s. While their former midlaner and head coach are absent, the core of the team remains largely identical, and the botside duo and jungler have years of prior experience together to draw from. But, it is entirely possible that APA’s playstyle, far different from Loki’s, will give the team new dimensions as well, able to take advantage of his ban-demanding pool.

With the capacity to leverage their experience over other unproven and adjusting rosters, C9 is a team to keep an eye out for as a title contender next split. C9 fans will be hoping not only for a trophy, but also for a return to Worlds after 2 years of missing the coveted event. Time will only tell if the adjusted coaching staff and APA, a frequent international attendee since his debut, can deliver that.

Cloud9's 2026 LCS roster:

For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub