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League of Legends – LS Joins Cloud9 as New Head Coach

Nick “LS” De Cesare has been announced as Cloud9’s new head coach, with the 28-year-old set to be in... | 2. December 2021

Nick “LS” De Cesare has been announced as Cloud9’s new head coach, with the 28-year-old set to be in charge of the organization’s League of Legends roster for the 2022 season. The American veteran has been operating as a streamer for the last two League seasons, with his move to Cloud9 signaling his return to coaching.

LS has vast experience as a coach, having worked with the likes of SUPA HOT CREW, MeetYourMakers, Gravity, Tempo Storm, Incheon, bbq Olivers and XYZ in the past. From November 2020, the American began streaming under the banner of T1, where he co-streamed LoL matches from different regions.

Why LS is a Major Coup for Cloud9

As a South Korean resident, LS has a strong tie to the country’s League of Legends scene. LS spoke of the Western and Eastern regions and the gap between them upon signing for Cloud9, with a video posted by the organization having read:

“If there was ever going to be a chance to return to pro play in some facet, coaching, this probably would have just been it—provided that a lot of the stars would end up aligning,” LS said. “And, I thought watching Worlds this past year that LPL and LCK teams actually regressed in terms of gameplay … and I never felt that before in previous years.”

Despite reaching the League of Legends World Championship quarter finals earlier in the year, recording impressive wins over major teams from the LPL and LEC in the process, Cloud9 chose to undergo a roster rebuild during the offseason. Three new players having joined to date.

How the Cloud9 LoL Roster is Shaping Up for 2022

Top laner “Summit”, AD carry “Berserker” and support “Winsome give Cloud9 a excellent lineup on paper. However, it remains to be seen as to how ex-top laner “Fudge” will cope with his switch to the middle lane next year. LC and the new look Cloud9 roster will debut upon the return of the LCS, which is due to get underway on January 14.

Speaking on his new role, LS let fans of the org know that he would be keeping a close eye on their Academy roster. The likes of “Darshan”, “Zven” and “K1ng” remain active, with LS having made the following statement on how things will work at Cloud9 this season:

“I’ve been very outspoken about the need to scrim against an Academy team and the need to have internal scrims and internal practice,” LS said. “So, the Academy team is being stacked with also really high-level players and then even other coaches and other staff members that are being brought in, who are also Korean Challenger level players.”