\u201cIt was dog-eat-dog. We were all afraid of the other guy getting our spot\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jack talks roster changes, Cloud9\u2019s role in the newly franchised LCS, and ideas for a brighter future in LoL.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/league-of-legends\/news\/cloud9-cofounder-jack-on-securing-nalcs-franchise-slot-18861\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cloud9 co-founder Jack on securing an NA LCS franchise slot: \u201cIt was dog-eat-dog. 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Cloud9 proved, yet again, that they are NA\u2019s best team on the international stage by advancing at Worlds to the quarterfinals, a feat that the region\u2019s other teams couldn\u2019t accomplish. The organization has also been accepted into the highly-anticipated Overwatch League as the London Spitfire. This past weekend, the CS:GO team finished in the semifinals at IEM Oakland after a rallying upset in the quarters. Despite all the organization\u2019s success in other games, though, CEO and co-founder Jack Etienne was still gunning for more: Cloud9\u2019s acceptance into the new NA LCS. \u201cWhen I set my goals for the year\u2013\u2014this was my top priority,\u201d Etienne told Dot Esports. \u201cThis is the game that I love, and I\u2019ve spent more time on it than anything else.\u201d League is where Etienne began his journey towards running an esports dynasty. He started as TSM's general manager in 2011 and founded Cloud9 a year later. Becoming a franchise meant that Cloud9 would no longer have to worry about relegation, welcoming in longer-term partnerships with bigger sponsors. It could mean more outreach to the fans, higher salaries for players, and maybe even Cloud9\u2019s very own esports facility. Luckily for Cloud9, it made the cut. But the team\u2019s 2017 League roster may not stick together to see it through. The weight of franchising Whether you\u2019re pro-franchising or against the idea, this monumental change carries with it an undeniable weight, and its changes will be felt for years to come. Essentially, the NA LCS franchising means that teams are no longer fluid. There is no relegation, so the 10 teams we see in the Spring Split will remain the 10 teams of the NA LCS for the foreseeable future. That\u2019s what it boils down to, and yet, it means so much more. The largest behind-the-scenes effect of that change? Money\u2014and lots of it. \u201c[Franchising] allows you to bring in sponsors to create really strong years-long partnerships,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cSo I can go out and get a major non-endemic sponsor to be involved in, say,\u00a0the creation of a Cloud9 facility. They could have their name on the side of the building alongside Cloud9. These are projects that require having a permanent presence in League to create.\u201d Cloud9 has already received a \u201cton of interest\u201d in a long-term partnership for building an esports facility, according to Etienne. Whatever sponsor they may end up landing, Cloud9 is preparing to deck the halls of its new building in honor of its new partner. The team is considering to outfit the streaming room, scrim hall, or retail with a dedicated space for the sponsor\u2014and even a spot on the side of the building for their logo. This brand-new headquarters is still in the very early stages of planning, but Etienne has big dreams for it, including offices for the staff and a sports psychologist, a gym, a social room, and even a youth center for local kids to come and learn what it takes to become a pro player. He has dubbed that specific project \u201cCloud9 Camp.\u201d None of this would be remotely possible without franchising the LCS. According to Etienne, it\u2019s \u201cchanged the conversation.\u201d \u201cI can now build the stability and the structure for my players that I\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d Etienne said. It was an extremely difficult road to get here, though. According to Etienne, months of labor were poured into crafting the perfect application to hand to Riot. Cloud9\u2019s application was a whopping 45 pages long. \u201cI had a full team of coworkers dedicated to making the application as good as it could possibly be. I made no assumptions that, although Cloud9 had been a good team historically, that we would be a part of [the new NA LCS]. It was very possible that we didn\u2019t make it, and we had to make sure our application wasn\u2019t based on the fact that Cloud9 was one of the best teams throughout the years, but instead that it was one of the top 10 applications that [Riot] saw. We spent literally months building it. It was the biggest project of my career. Until I got that call that said, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re a part of this league,\u2019 I was walking on eggshells.\u201d Now that Cloud9 is in, its goal is to land those big sponsorship deals, and its greatest competition is some of the league\u2019s newest teams. It\u2019s all about the fans Teams owned by the NBA\u2019s Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets don\u2019t have the same monetary concerns that older esports clubs like Cloud9 do. Instead of looking for investors, these teams simply need to ask for funds, from organizations that are worth millions. Etienne plans on learning from these incoming powerhouse organizations when it comes to growing Cloud9\u2019s brand. As for the fans, Etienne believes that the rest of the LCS will now be able to grow much larger communities without the fear of \u201cdisappearing overnight\u201d thanks to relegation. Teams already in the NA LCS with large fanbases are the same ones that haven\u2019t had to worry about relegation\u2014Cloud9 and TSM, mostly\u2014because they\u2019ve historically had very strong rosters. Cloud9 and TSM have around 600,000 and 1.5 million Twitter followers respectively, as well as over 500,000 likes each on their Facebook pages. Despite these huge names entering the league, though, Etienne believes Cloud9\u2019s chances are very good when it comes to growing its community, because, to him, fans root for teams that win. \u201cAt the center of everything we\u2019re doing, we\u2019re always looking to build very competitive teams,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cOne of the best ways to stand out is to perform at the top of the league, so we can get into the playoffs, qualify for Worlds, and then do well at Worlds. That\u2019s always goal number one. \u201cThe lessons I\u2019ve learned in esports over the past seven years are still going to serve me very well [against those teams]. We\u2019ve been doing this for a while, and we have a good understanding of what it takes to win.\u201d Both the new teams hailing from the NBA and the older esports teams will have unique advantages when it comes to winning and earning more fans. The Warriors, Cavs, and Rockets know how to be champions in their own sport, but organizations like Cloud9 have the home-court advantage when it comes to running an esports organization. The teams from the NBA, however, know how to land huge, non-endemic sponsorship deals, and that means their funding might be less limited\u2014at least for now. The old gang is breaking up Cloud9\u2019s League squad certainly aren\u2019t strangers to winning, but for the past few years it seems like they only know how to win at Worlds, and even then, only through the group stage. Domestically, Cloud9 have been falling to TSM in the playoffs for years, and it looks like it might be time for some change. Roster changes don\u2019t come lightly for a team like Cloud9, though. According to Etienne, when you join Cloud9, you\u2019re in it for the long haul. That\u2019s why Juan \u201cContractz\u201d Garcia\u2019s arrival last year was so noteworthy, and that\u2019s why last week\u2019s reports of Jung \u201cImpact\u201d Eon-yeong\u2019s departure were hard to grasp. It\u2019s not all doom and gloom for Cloud9 fans, though. For starters, Impact\u2019s departure is far from finalized. He has entered free agency following the end of his contract, but the Cloud9 team still want him to return to play for them. He hasn\u2019t decided on anything, and he may very well come back. If he did return, though, he probably wouldn\u2019t be a starter, because Eric \u201cLicorice\u201d Ritchie is officially joining the team, and Etienne has big plans for the rising star. At the most, Impact would probably share the role with the new top laner. \u201cWe are bringing back one of our own,\u201d Etienne said. \u201c[Licorice] was on the Cloud9 Challenger sub team, and it was a team that was put together and directed by Hai [Lam]. When it didn\u2019t seem viable for Cloud9 to have a Challenger team anymore, I was planning to have Licorice in as a sub to continue to develop him in-house. But this opportunity came up for him. [eUnited] really wanted him, and they said, \u2018Hey, the best way to develop is to get him on stage,\u2019 and they convinced me. \u201cThis was something Licorice wanted to do, to fight his way into the LCS. So, we made that trade happen, and I had a buyback option. We\u2019re exercising that option, and we\u2019re bringing him back. My hope is that Impact will come back as well, but that\u2019s still in the air.\u201d If Impact and Licorice were on the team together, Licorice would probably still see a lot of stage time, as Etienne calls him \u201ctop-tier talent.\u201d As for Jeon \u201cRay\u201d Ji-won, the team\u2019s substitute top laner in 2017 that often started games ahead of Impact, there\u2019s a very good chance he won\u2019t be returning. He wants to explore opportunities in Korea, and Cloud9 agreed. Several teams are interested in him, according to Etienne, but nothing has been locked in yet. If Ray can\u2019t find an attractive deal on one of these new teams, he may still return to Cloud9, but he has been given the green light to try out for these rosters. \u201cIf that\u2019s what he wants to do, I want to let him go where he wants to go,\u201d Etienne said. Since both Impact and Ray\u2019s futures are still so unclear (Impact\u2019s more so than Ray\u2019s), it\u2019s too early for Cloud9 to decide on their top lane structure. But, according to Etienne, \u201cWe (Cloud9) could really use [Licorice]\u201d as their primary top laner. Other than Impact and Ray, though, the rest of the Cloud9 family will be returning for the 2018 Spring Split. Closing the gap League of Legends changes a lot every year, but a few things have remained constant: Korean teams dominate at Worlds, and Cloud9 plays better than any other NA team. For three of the past four years, Cloud9 has made it to groups, which is more than any other top talent from NA can say, including TSM, CLG, and 2017\u2019s Immortals\u2014who are no longer in the league. Despite that, Cloud9 still can\u2019t hold a candle to the eastern regions, especially the LCK. Etienne doesn\u2019t have the magic trick that will close the gap for Cloud9 and the rest of the West, but he has an idea that may help. Drop import restrictions. \u201cI think [Riot] should drop import restriction rules, so teams can pick up whomever they want and field the best team,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cI know a lot of people disagree with me on that\u2026 I\u2019d love to see [Riot] relax those rules a bit, at least. \u201cIt would be really cool if maybe the western regions, Europe and North America, could be considered one region, where European and North American players could move back and forth. We\u2019ve both been behind, frankly, for a really long time, and I think that could make us more competitive. This is a personal thing for me, but I would love it if they would lax the rules for Europe.\u201d It\u2019s undeniable that both China and Korea produce more League players than North America. Across all of China\u2019s game servers, there are roughly 110 million active players, according to a game census published by a League data site this summer. Among all the players in the game\u2019s single-server regions, Korea has almost 25 percent of all players, and North America only holds 10 percent. Etienne argues that increasing the pool of players that the West has to choose from could be a good step towards tighter competition. Whether or not Riot does something that dramatic, Etienne has faith that the company will steer the league in the right direction. He, along with many others, view the shift to franchising as a step toward the NA LCS becoming the best esports league available. That, combined with the decision to convert back to best-of-ones for the broadcasts, should make 2018 a great year for League of Legends. With best-of-ones, Riot will include every single LCS game on one broadcast, rather than having multiple games at the same time. This way, fans won\u2019t have to choose which games to watch at any given time, creating a better viewing experience. \u201cFor years [Riot] has guided us to make a really strong league...They\u2019ve proven that they can make the most popular league in all of esports, and I think they\u2019re going to continue to be a leader.\u201d","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11132748\/daf52ba5-6071-4c6b-95cf-2e339edd5190.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8657"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412957,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657\/revisions\/412957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

\u201cIt was dog-eat-dog. We were all afraid of the other guy getting our spot\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jack talks roster changes, Cloud9\u2019s role in the newly franchised LCS, and ideas for a brighter future in LoL.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/league-of-legends\/news\/cloud9-cofounder-jack-on-securing-nalcs-franchise-slot-18861\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cloud9 co-founder Jack on securing an NA LCS franchise slot: \u201cIt was dog-eat-dog. 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We were all afraid of the other guy getting our spot\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/528a0749ace08572d402572b23ca1c69","name":"Aaron Mickunas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8b81524abd8c75a9adea700a5257f963","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1290e2d47c5955a3ab030d0688541b77?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1290e2d47c5955a3ab030d0688541b77?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"Aaron Mickunas"},"description":"Esports and gaming journalist for Dot Esports, featured at Lolesports.com, Polygon, IGN, and Ginx.tv.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/aaronmickunas\/","https:\/\/x.com\/aaronmickunas"],"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/aaron-mickunas"}]}},"raw_content":"This year has been fantastic for Cloud9, one of North America\u2019s longest-standing esports clubs, and its loyal fanbase. Cloud9 proved, yet again, that they are NA\u2019s best team on the international stage by advancing at Worlds to the quarterfinals, a feat that the region\u2019s other teams couldn\u2019t accomplish. The organization has also been accepted into the highly-anticipated Overwatch League as the London Spitfire. This past weekend, the CS:GO team finished in the semifinals at IEM Oakland after a rallying upset in the quarters. Despite all the organization\u2019s success in other games, though, CEO and co-founder Jack Etienne was still gunning for more: Cloud9\u2019s acceptance into the new NA LCS. \u201cWhen I set my goals for the year\u2013\u2014this was my top priority,\u201d Etienne told Dot Esports. \u201cThis is the game that I love, and I\u2019ve spent more time on it than anything else.\u201d League is where Etienne began his journey towards running an esports dynasty. He started as TSM's general manager in 2011 and founded Cloud9 a year later. Becoming a franchise meant that Cloud9 would no longer have to worry about relegation, welcoming in longer-term partnerships with bigger sponsors. It could mean more outreach to the fans, higher salaries for players, and maybe even Cloud9\u2019s very own esports facility. Luckily for Cloud9, it made the cut. But the team\u2019s 2017 League roster may not stick together to see it through. The weight of franchising Whether you\u2019re pro-franchising or against the idea, this monumental change carries with it an undeniable weight, and its changes will be felt for years to come. Essentially, the NA LCS franchising means that teams are no longer fluid. There is no relegation, so the 10 teams we see in the Spring Split will remain the 10 teams of the NA LCS for the foreseeable future. That\u2019s what it boils down to, and yet, it means so much more. The largest behind-the-scenes effect of that change? Money\u2014and lots of it. \u201c[Franchising] allows you to bring in sponsors to create really strong years-long partnerships,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cSo I can go out and get a major non-endemic sponsor to be involved in, say,\u00a0the creation of a Cloud9 facility. They could have their name on the side of the building alongside Cloud9. These are projects that require having a permanent presence in League to create.\u201d Cloud9 has already received a \u201cton of interest\u201d in a long-term partnership for building an esports facility, according to Etienne. Whatever sponsor they may end up landing, Cloud9 is preparing to deck the halls of its new building in honor of its new partner. The team is considering to outfit the streaming room, scrim hall, or retail with a dedicated space for the sponsor\u2014and even a spot on the side of the building for their logo. This brand-new headquarters is still in the very early stages of planning, but Etienne has big dreams for it, including offices for the staff and a sports psychologist, a gym, a social room, and even a youth center for local kids to come and learn what it takes to become a pro player. He has dubbed that specific project \u201cCloud9 Camp.\u201d None of this would be remotely possible without franchising the LCS. According to Etienne, it\u2019s \u201cchanged the conversation.\u201d \u201cI can now build the stability and the structure for my players that I\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d Etienne said. It was an extremely difficult road to get here, though. According to Etienne, months of labor were poured into crafting the perfect application to hand to Riot. Cloud9\u2019s application was a whopping 45 pages long. \u201cI had a full team of coworkers dedicated to making the application as good as it could possibly be. I made no assumptions that, although Cloud9 had been a good team historically, that we would be a part of [the new NA LCS]. It was very possible that we didn\u2019t make it, and we had to make sure our application wasn\u2019t based on the fact that Cloud9 was one of the best teams throughout the years, but instead that it was one of the top 10 applications that [Riot] saw. We spent literally months building it. It was the biggest project of my career. Until I got that call that said, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re a part of this league,\u2019 I was walking on eggshells.\u201d Now that Cloud9 is in, its goal is to land those big sponsorship deals, and its greatest competition is some of the league\u2019s newest teams. It\u2019s all about the fans Teams owned by the NBA\u2019s Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets don\u2019t have the same monetary concerns that older esports clubs like Cloud9 do. Instead of looking for investors, these teams simply need to ask for funds, from organizations that are worth millions. Etienne plans on learning from these incoming powerhouse organizations when it comes to growing Cloud9\u2019s brand. As for the fans, Etienne believes that the rest of the LCS will now be able to grow much larger communities without the fear of \u201cdisappearing overnight\u201d thanks to relegation. Teams already in the NA LCS with large fanbases are the same ones that haven\u2019t had to worry about relegation\u2014Cloud9 and TSM, mostly\u2014because they\u2019ve historically had very strong rosters. Cloud9 and TSM have around 600,000 and 1.5 million Twitter followers respectively, as well as over 500,000 likes each on their Facebook pages. Despite these huge names entering the league, though, Etienne believes Cloud9\u2019s chances are very good when it comes to growing its community, because, to him, fans root for teams that win. \u201cAt the center of everything we\u2019re doing, we\u2019re always looking to build very competitive teams,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cOne of the best ways to stand out is to perform at the top of the league, so we can get into the playoffs, qualify for Worlds, and then do well at Worlds. That\u2019s always goal number one. \u201cThe lessons I\u2019ve learned in esports over the past seven years are still going to serve me very well [against those teams]. We\u2019ve been doing this for a while, and we have a good understanding of what it takes to win.\u201d Both the new teams hailing from the NBA and the older esports teams will have unique advantages when it comes to winning and earning more fans. The Warriors, Cavs, and Rockets know how to be champions in their own sport, but organizations like Cloud9 have the home-court advantage when it comes to running an esports organization. The teams from the NBA, however, know how to land huge, non-endemic sponsorship deals, and that means their funding might be less limited\u2014at least for now. The old gang is breaking up Cloud9\u2019s League squad certainly aren\u2019t strangers to winning, but for the past few years it seems like they only know how to win at Worlds, and even then, only through the group stage. Domestically, Cloud9 have been falling to TSM in the playoffs for years, and it looks like it might be time for some change. Roster changes don\u2019t come lightly for a team like Cloud9, though. According to Etienne, when you join Cloud9, you\u2019re in it for the long haul. That\u2019s why Juan \u201cContractz\u201d Garcia\u2019s arrival last year was so noteworthy, and that\u2019s why last week\u2019s reports of Jung \u201cImpact\u201d Eon-yeong\u2019s departure were hard to grasp. It\u2019s not all doom and gloom for Cloud9 fans, though. For starters, Impact\u2019s departure is far from finalized. He has entered free agency following the end of his contract, but the Cloud9 team still want him to return to play for them. He hasn\u2019t decided on anything, and he may very well come back. If he did return, though, he probably wouldn\u2019t be a starter, because Eric \u201cLicorice\u201d Ritchie is officially joining the team, and Etienne has big plans for the rising star. At the most, Impact would probably share the role with the new top laner. \u201cWe are bringing back one of our own,\u201d Etienne said. \u201c[Licorice] was on the Cloud9 Challenger sub team, and it was a team that was put together and directed by Hai [Lam]. When it didn\u2019t seem viable for Cloud9 to have a Challenger team anymore, I was planning to have Licorice in as a sub to continue to develop him in-house. But this opportunity came up for him. [eUnited] really wanted him, and they said, \u2018Hey, the best way to develop is to get him on stage,\u2019 and they convinced me. \u201cThis was something Licorice wanted to do, to fight his way into the LCS. So, we made that trade happen, and I had a buyback option. We\u2019re exercising that option, and we\u2019re bringing him back. My hope is that Impact will come back as well, but that\u2019s still in the air.\u201d If Impact and Licorice were on the team together, Licorice would probably still see a lot of stage time, as Etienne calls him \u201ctop-tier talent.\u201d As for Jeon \u201cRay\u201d Ji-won, the team\u2019s substitute top laner in 2017 that often started games ahead of Impact, there\u2019s a very good chance he won\u2019t be returning. He wants to explore opportunities in Korea, and Cloud9 agreed. Several teams are interested in him, according to Etienne, but nothing has been locked in yet. If Ray can\u2019t find an attractive deal on one of these new teams, he may still return to Cloud9, but he has been given the green light to try out for these rosters. \u201cIf that\u2019s what he wants to do, I want to let him go where he wants to go,\u201d Etienne said. Since both Impact and Ray\u2019s futures are still so unclear (Impact\u2019s more so than Ray\u2019s), it\u2019s too early for Cloud9 to decide on their top lane structure. But, according to Etienne, \u201cWe (Cloud9) could really use [Licorice]\u201d as their primary top laner. Other than Impact and Ray, though, the rest of the Cloud9 family will be returning for the 2018 Spring Split. Closing the gap League of Legends changes a lot every year, but a few things have remained constant: Korean teams dominate at Worlds, and Cloud9 plays better than any other NA team. For three of the past four years, Cloud9 has made it to groups, which is more than any other top talent from NA can say, including TSM, CLG, and 2017\u2019s Immortals\u2014who are no longer in the league. Despite that, Cloud9 still can\u2019t hold a candle to the eastern regions, especially the LCK. Etienne doesn\u2019t have the magic trick that will close the gap for Cloud9 and the rest of the West, but he has an idea that may help. Drop import restrictions. \u201cI think [Riot] should drop import restriction rules, so teams can pick up whomever they want and field the best team,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cI know a lot of people disagree with me on that\u2026 I\u2019d love to see [Riot] relax those rules a bit, at least. \u201cIt would be really cool if maybe the western regions, Europe and North America, could be considered one region, where European and North American players could move back and forth. We\u2019ve both been behind, frankly, for a really long time, and I think that could make us more competitive. This is a personal thing for me, but I would love it if they would lax the rules for Europe.\u201d It\u2019s undeniable that both China and Korea produce more League players than North America. Across all of China\u2019s game servers, there are roughly 110 million active players, according to a game census published by a League data site this summer. Among all the players in the game\u2019s single-server regions, Korea has almost 25 percent of all players, and North America only holds 10 percent. Etienne argues that increasing the pool of players that the West has to choose from could be a good step towards tighter competition. Whether or not Riot does something that dramatic, Etienne has faith that the company will steer the league in the right direction. He, along with many others, view the shift to franchising as a step toward the NA LCS becoming the best esports league available. That, combined with the decision to convert back to best-of-ones for the broadcasts, should make 2018 a great year for League of Legends. With best-of-ones, Riot will include every single LCS game on one broadcast, rather than having multiple games at the same time. This way, fans won\u2019t have to choose which games to watch at any given time, creating a better viewing experience. \u201cFor years [Riot] has guided us to make a really strong league...They\u2019ve proven that they can make the most popular league in all of esports, and I think they\u2019re going to continue to be a leader.\u201d","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11132748\/daf52ba5-6071-4c6b-95cf-2e339edd5190.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8657"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412957,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657\/revisions\/412957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Rokurou

{"id":8657,"date":"2017-11-20T15:54:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T21:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.dotesports.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/20\/cloud9-cofounder-jack-on-securing-nalcs-franchise-slot\/"},"modified":"2021-06-15T14:50:35","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T19:50:35","slug":"cloud9-cofounder-jack-on-securing-nalcs-franchise-slot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/league-of-legends\/news\/cloud9-cofounder-jack-on-securing-nalcs-franchise-slot-18861","title":{"rendered":"Cloud9 co-founder Jack on securing an NA LCS franchise slot: \u201cIt was dog-eat-dog. We were all afraid of the other guy getting our spot\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year has been fantastic for Cloud9, one of North America\u2019s longest-standing esports clubs, and its loyal fanbase. Cloud9 proved, yet again, that they are NA\u2019s best team on the international stage by advancing at Worlds to the quarterfinals, a feat that the region\u2019s other teams couldn\u2019t accomplish. The organization has also been accepted into the highly-anticipated Overwatch<\/em> League as the London Spitfire. This past weekend, the CS:GO<\/em> team finished in the semifinals at IEM Oakland after a rallying upset in the quarters. Despite all the organization\u2019s success in other games, though, CEO and co-founder Jack Etienne was still gunning for more: Cloud9\u2019s acceptance into the new NA LCS. \u201cWhen I set my goals for the year\u2013\u2014this was my top priority,\u201d Etienne told Dot Esports. \u201cThis is the game that I love, and I\u2019ve spent more time on it than anything else.\u201d League<\/em> is where Etienne began his journey towards running an esports dynasty. He started as TSM’s general manager in 2011 and founded Cloud9 a year later. Becoming a franchise meant that Cloud9 would no longer have to worry about relegation, welcoming in longer-term partnerships with bigger sponsors. It could mean more outreach to the fans, higher salaries for players, and maybe even Cloud9\u2019s very own esports facility. Luckily for Cloud9, it made the cut. But the team\u2019s 2017 League<\/em> roster may not stick together to see it through. <\/p>