Ax1Le Talks About the Future of Cloud9 CS:GO Roster - NA or Europe?

The victory at IEM Dallas 2022 was really special for Cloud9 whose last LAN victory was at the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, the only Major to be won by a North American roster. It was also redemption for its mostly Russian CS:GO lineup, who finally got a chance to play in front of a live audience and secured a neat '3-0' win to lift the trophy.

Following their victory, Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov pointed out how the massive support from the crowd present at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center really helped them along.

"The fans are very supportive and when the crowd cheers for you, it gives us more confidence. When the crowd gets really loud and they are screaming it feels really nice and incredible." explained Ax1Le in an interview with Dust2.US.

Additionally, he also went on to speak about the future of the team due to Cloud9 being a North American esports organization and the entire lineup comprising of players from the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region.

The future of Cloud9 CS:GO team: Ax1Le gives details about the next steps for the lineup

North American fans have clearly accepted the foreign CS:GO roster picked up by one of the biggest and most reputed North American esports organizations, Cloud9, quite evident from the massive support they received from the crowd during the playoffs of IEM Dallas 2022.

The fact that every piece of Cloud9 merchandise at the IEM Dallas pro shop sold out within 24 hours of their quarterfinal victory over FaZe Clan, only goes on to show the kind of support they were receiving from the audience members.

Ax1Le, who was the best player at the tournament with an overall HLTV rating of 1.32 across 16 maps, was personally enjoying the LAN atmosphere, "I just really like to play on the stage when the crowd is screaming because it helps me. I don't know why and I don't know how but that's how I feel."

This was a statement victory for both Cloud9 and its players, especially after the unfortunate run they had at the PGL Antwerp Major 2022. The former Gambit Esports players were shocked when Cloud9 had initially approached them with an offer, revealed Ax1Le, but everyone seems to have settled down very comfortably.

Talking about their future together, Ax1Le confirmed that the team will be practicing out of Belgrade, Serbia despite Cloud9 being headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The team is currently searching for bootcamps in Serbia so that they can continue to compete in Europe.

The team will be next seen in action after quite some time as they will not be competing in the upcoming CS:GO tournaments - Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022 and BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022.