Cloud9 Reveals mezii and woxic Additions

North American organization, Cloud9, has announced the two latest additions to its upcoming "Colossus" Counter-Strike roster, coming in the form of William "mezii" Merriman and Özgür "woxic" Eker.

Union Jack of all trades

Unknown to a lot of the community, mezii is an emerging talent from the UK, who recently plied his trade for Team GamerLegion in the latest season of MDL. The Brit began making a name for himself in Vexed Gaming, where he held the primary AWPer role, later switching to a hybrid playstyle. During his time with GL, mezii has transitioned into a lurker, thus putting him in many clutch situations, which have allowed him to showcase his skills. Though he has little experience at the top level compared to his teammates, mezii is a talent of the future. He has incredible mechanical skills, can pick up any role very quickly, has a very cool, calm, and collected mindset, and has always put a significant focus on having clear and concise communication. Indeed, mezii isn't currently a household name in the CS community, but it's only a matter of time before he becomes one. Coming into the new Colossus lineup, mezii will be playing more of a supportive role, lining up utility and being the last man in, once again, putting him in the clutching positions where he shines best. We may even see him pick up the second AWP on CT sides if we're lucky.

Turkey's lighting bolt

A fan-beloved player due to his quick and flashy AWP shots, woxic was one of the best snipers on the market in recent times. Known for his fearless and aggressive playstyle, woxic will be a central part of C9's strategies moving forward. Under Finn "karrigan" Andersen's leadership in mousesports, woxic was elevated from a tier 2 AWPer to a global superstar, being deemed 2019's 12th best player according to HLTV. Things were rough in the mouz camp throughout 2020, but contrary to popular belief, woxic wasn't benched due to being toxic (even though it rhymes). The European superteam decided to head in another direction, and quite frankly, almost any team would benefit from woxic's added firepower. With how Alex "ALEX" McMeekin previously utilized Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut in Team Vitality, it'll be interesting just how bright woxic will shine under the Brit's leadership. Having played at the top level and lifted many trophies in the past year and a half, woxic is sure to make this roster the Colossus it was promised to be.

The more the merrier

On an episode of HLTV Confirmed, Henry "HenryG" Greer, C9's new manager, mentioned that he would be looking to form a six-man roster, with the sixth player being more than just a substitute. Instead of sitting on the bench, the sixth player will act as sort of a brand ambassador while the roster initially stabilizes. Moving forward, they will be actively attending practices, not to keep the other players on their toes about their positions in the squad, but rather to ensure that if a player can't participate in an event, the team won't suffer as much. The player will need to be versatile and able to fill virtually any role within the team. With how unpredictable the world is, C9 would rather be safe than sorry, especially with woxic being denied entry into the United States in the past, for example. 

HenryG stated that while this player hasn't been selected, he has a shortlist, and it'll be someone "With a career that has potentially not gone the way they wanted to. But they've been to LANs, they've been to big tournaments, they've seen it but not quite made it." Someone such as Niels Christian "NaToSaphiX" Sillassen would be an excellent fit for the team, given that he has experience as an in-game leader, AWPer, and rifler of every kind. He has developed a fanbase through his YouTube channel and showed that he could compete at a decent level during his time with Sprout, Heroic, and Nordavind. He even helping mouz win cs_summit 5 in late 2019! His ability to play any role, paired with his experience and following, would make him a fantastic sixth player and brand ambassador. 

Talking business

Following his announcement as Cloud9's new manager, HenryG revealed that he would be sharing his players' contract lengths and salaries with the community, and sure enough, he has held that promise. 

There have been mixed feelings about the revealed buyouts and salaries, given that it's an unprecedented event; no organization has ever officially announced these numbers before. It's hard for the community to get an accurate idea of what is high and what is low with nothing to compare to. ALEX's $250,000 buyout fee, alongside mezii's $83,000 and woxic's $296,000, amount to a grand total of $629,000 in buyouts alone. With three more players required for the upcoming roster, Cloud9 will presumably dish out quite a bit more cash shortly.

An interesting discussion that has been brought up by the reveal of these contract details in the difference in salaries for each player. Over three years, ALEX will be paid $1,400,000, while mezii and woxic will receive $426,000 and $1,065,000 respectively. While they're all very good wages, there's also a noticeable difference between them. Many in the community expected each player to be paid the same fixed fee, but that model doesn't make sense from an organization's perspective. Certain players bring more in terms of influence and brand value while others have more responsibilities within the roster; paying everyone the same amount doesn't align with each player's reality. That said, it's great that these salaries are being made public, as it gives other players a better idea of their market value, at least for a tier 1 organization. 

Raise the bar to the clouds

Wanting to assemble the roster by October, HenryG has revealed that the goal will be to win Flashpoint 2. With Cloud9 looking to build a world-class roster, anything other than a victory at Flashpoint 2 would be disappointing. While it's an ambitious goal, it's one that makes a lot of sense, considering that this roster is meant to become a Colossus, a tier 1 team that can contend with the best of the best, a squad that aims for the trophy rather than a deep run. 

So, is it a Colossus then?

It's impossible to tell how solid Cloud9's Colossus CS:GO roster is, considering that the team is incomplete as of right now. With the currently announced players all being European, it's likely to be the case of the final three. That said, Cloud9 could theoretically borrow a page from Complexity Gaming's book and relocate international players to Europe for a long-term bootcamp. Given that financial resources aren't an issue for C9, the only things holding it back are the global Covid-19 travel restrictions. Still, it would be very cool to see North American, CIS, or even Australian talents on the Colossus roster. While the current pieces suggest a solid start, we'll need to wait and see who fills the last three spots to have an accurate idea of what this team is capable of. Still, one thing is for certain: it's hard not to be excited about what's to come.