Is anyone else struggling to keep up with all these breaking stories?
In another twist to the professional Counter-Strike world, Cloud9 have announced that their star AWPer sh1ro has requested to step back from the active roster and will be placed on the transfer list by the American organisation.
The move comes a week after another disappointing exit from an event with their Group Stage exit at IEM Sydney.
A big loss for Cloud9, sh1ro has been a part of their core since they were still playing for Gambit Youngsters.
Later promoted to Gambit's main team alongside the rest of his squad, they would become one of the world's elite teams during the online era winning events like IEM Katowice 2021 and IEM Summer 2021.
Since the return to LAN following COVID-19, sh1ro and the rest of the squad moved to Cloud9, where they won IEM Dallas 2022 and finished runners-up at ESL Pro League Season 17.
Results slipped in the following months, and a roster revamp saw the arrivals of electroNic and Perfecto from regional rivals NAVI. Anointed the Russian superteam, results have thus far left a lot to be desired - outside of a playoff run at IEM Cologne.
It's currently unclear who will be stepping into the team to fill the shoes of sh1ro, although their place at BLAST Premier Fall Final suggests we may not have to wait long to find out as rosters are lock on October 31st.
"sh1ro has made the decision to step down from the Cloud9 CS2 starting lineup. As much as we would like to have him be part of our team, we want to respect his choice. As a result, we have mutually agreed to make sh1ro available for transfer." - Cloud9, via X (formerly Twitter)
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