Photo: LoL Esports
The news went a little unnoticed, but Cloud9 offered a new XXL contract to a star player from the NA region. It was by observing the fluctuations of the GCD (Global Contract Database) that we came across the operation. Even if we are talking about a big contract, we do not know the exact salary provided for in the clauses, but we imagine however that it is substantial. On the other hand, the player signed for 4 years ! It is now linked to the North American structure until the end of 2026. While everything is going very quickly in esports, it is rather rare to see a structure bet on a player for such a long period. But it proves that this star has the full confidence of the technical staff and that he left to finish his career at C9.
In Europe, apart from Caps at G2 , we don't know of a player with a comparable contract, which remains a privilege in an environment as competitive as that of League of Legends.
Blaber, a whole life at Cloud9?
The player in question is Robert " Blaber " Huang. The American joined Cloud9 at the end of 2017, as a substitute jungler for the academy team. Since then, he has come a long way, gradually integrating team one and then becoming a central element of the roster. He has played the Worlds 4 times and won the LCS 3 times and symbolizes the past, the present and the future of the structure. He is only 22 years old and still has a lot of good years ahead of him. You should never swear to anything in the world of esports, but C9 may well be the only professional team in their career.
Blaber also has the advantage of having a rather bankable image. Of American nationality, he is one of the few internationally respected NA talents. Obviously, he had some disappointments in big tournaments, like his elimination during the group stage of Worlds 2022 and he was often laughed at because of an unfortunate Scuttler . But he remains a very good player capable of the best, as evidenced by his many individual distinctions in the LCS: Split rookie (Summer 2018), Split MVP (Spring 2020 and Spring 2021), 4 times named in the standard team of the segment. .. It is easy to understand why Cloud9 wants to secure his nugget until the end of 2026. If he goes to the end of the next 4 years, he will have spent 9 competitive seasons within the structure... Which would be as much a rarity as a pride .
The tree that hides the forest in NA?
We can already hear American fans praising the NA region for the trust placed in young local talent. But the case of Blaber is really special, it's a bit like the tree that hides the forest. As often during transfer window periods, LCS teams do not hesitate to bet on aging and/or imported players...
- 100 Thieves couldn't find anything better than betting on the dinosaurs Bjergsen (Denmark) and Doublelift (thirties next year)
- Team Liquid picked up Summit and Pyosik , two Korean players
- FlyQuest recruited VicLa and Prince , two Korean players previously playing at KT and Liiv Sandbox in LCK.
-
Golden Guardians went to the PCS league for Gori , a former LCK midlaner.
The list is even longer, but you get the idea.
We knew it, we got it: the famous release date of FF16 is finally set, after a long period where only the planned period had been revealed. Now it's sure and certain, Square Enix's PS5 exclusive will see the light of day next year and confirms everything with a TGA 2022 trailer.
