Cloud9 Part Ways With Three Players
By Brigid Drake
Cloud9 announced the departure of Park "Summit" Woo-tae, Kim "Winsome" Dong-keon, and Jonah "Isles" Rosario in a tweet on May 2, 2022, not long after the conclusion of the LCS 2022 Spring Playoffs and LCS Proving Grounds 2022 Spring. All three players are now free agents.
Cloud9 suffered a 0-3 defeat against 100 Thieves at the recent LCS 2022 Spring Split. While they were able to defeat Golden Guardians in the Loser's Bracket, winning 3-0, they were defeated once again by Evil Geniuses in another 0-3. While they did end up in 4th place overall, taking a $20,000 prize home, the all-or-nothing nature of their losses and victory is tough to look at. Summit participated in all games as top laner, while Winsome and Isles both switched at playing support.
Cloud9 is the first LCS team Summit has played with. He has played only with professional South Korean teams in the past, such as Liiv Sandbox and Afreeca Freecs (who are currently known as the Kwangdong Freecs). At the time of his departure, he has played with Cloud9 for a little over five months.
Winsome also used to play for South Korean pro teams such as Shadow Battilca. While Winsome used to be a part of the main Cloud9 roster, he became a part of the Cloud9 Academy roster in November of 2021. At the time of his departure, he has been a part of Cloud9 for almost 11 months overall.
Isles used to participate in Oceania teams such as Legacy Esports and Mammoth Academy. He was a part of Cloud9 Academy roster and the main Cloud9 roster. At the time of his departure, he has been a part of Cloud9 for over a year. Since the announcement of his departure from Cloud9, Isles has tweeted that if he does not find a new North American team before May 14, his US visa will become void, and is actively looking for a new team.
The LCS 2022 Summer Split is set to begin on June 18.