In a surprising move, Cloud9’s Nick “LS” De Cesare has been removed from his position as head coach only four games into the season.
De Cesare, an immensely popular content creator, signed a three year deal during the LCS 2022 off-season, but is now being released from his coaching duties early in the season.
Strategic coach Max Waldo will take over for LS. He has been with the team since 2020, and was Cloud9’s stage coach during the Lock In when LS was awaiting entry into the United States.
It’s currently unknown why De Cesare has been released from his duties. Cloud9 started off the 2022 Spring Split with a 3-1 record, only losing to Team Liquid thus far.
LS’s arrival to the LCS was met with high expectations and was surrounded by immense hype, on which he seemed to deliver. His drafts were innovative and had mid laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami play enchaster picks which helped the team to their three wins.
To make matters even more intriguing, LS apparently didn’t know he got booted of the team until several hours before the game against CLG. Cloud9 lost that game.
“I was informed four hours ago of my release,” he said on Twitter. “For now I’ll figure out what’s next shortly.”
Later he added to his first short statement.
“I set out to show some things were possible and in that short time I believe we were able to show a glimpse of it. Even though the journey ends, I still feel satisfied that the team and players were able to showcase what we had, and knowing a lot more was possible,” he detailed.
Read more:
- Cloud9 and coach LS make 2-0 start in LCS – TSM remain winless
- Cloud9 sign LS as the head coach of their League of Legends roster
Are you surprised LS is gone so soon? Join the discussion on social media or Discord!
Image Credits: Cloud9