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Cloud9 LoL Announces IWDominate As Head Coach, Adds YamatoCannon and Arrow
Christian “IWDominate” Rivera has been announced as the new Head Coach for the Cloud9 roster following the departure of former Head Coach Nicholas “Inero” Smith. This move is only the first in a fairly large shuffle for the Cloud9 League of Legends roster, with the addition of multiple new assistant coaches and 2 new players.
IWDominate First Run as Head Coach
IWDominate, the former League of Legends professional player turned Content Creator, returned to the professional scene in 2025 when he signed with Cloud9. Initially serving remotely, he was moved to strategic coach in November 2025, where he has served for the last 7 months.
Now, he has been called up to the Head Coach position following Inero's departure, and Cloud9 have supplied him with a surplus of brains to get the project underway ahead of Summer.
Marius “Veigar v2” Aune has been promoted from the Position and Strategic Coach role, after 5 and a half years, to the position of Assistant Coach. Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi and Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon join him for a total of 3 Assistant Coaches. The former most recently coached Los Ratones and Witchcraft, while the latter just ended a stint with FlyQuest that lasted from 2023.
Cloud9 Mid Lane and AD Carry Changes Ahead of Summer
Former Cloud9 Mid Laner Lee “Loki” Sang-min returns to the organization after a short stint with HANJIN BRION in the LCK. Edward “Tactical” Ra joins as the new AD Carry player.
Both Eain “APA” Stearns and Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen are, at the time of writing, still attached to Cloud9. It is unconfirmed what the arrangement will be, but the two are most likely headed for the bench.
Disappointing End to a Strong Spring
Despite managing to finish first in the LCS Spring Standings (7-0), Cloud9 won their opening Playoffs match 3-2 against FlyQuest only to be swatted 3-0 by LYON and then Team Liquid in back-to-back series. The two losses denied the North American organization a return to the MSI stage despite their advantageous position coming into the Playoffs.
Now, Cloud9 looks to rebuild before Summer lands. But with LCS Summer kicking off on July 25th, there’s very little time to find any sort of bearings. It’s all hands on deck, but Cloud9 is not guaranteed to float by any means.
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Featured Image Credit: Reece Martinez/Riot Games
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