First win for Cloud9 in Malta

Cloud9 defeated Evil Geniuses in a simple two-map match to get their ESL Pro League Season 17 Group A campaign off to a great start. The Russian team got the better of the North American team right away with a landslide 16-5 victory on Inferno before finishing the series with a 16-4 triumph on Mirage.

The two-map thrashing gives Cloud9 the confidence they so needed after their underwhelming debut with Timur "buster" Tulepov in the active roster. The Kazahk rifler was added as Timofey "interz" Yakushin's replacement, marking the team's first roster change in three years, as explained by Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov in a post-match interview. "Buster, for example, is a very different player than Interz. We can switch some of the roles he can play "said nafany. In contrast, the team captained by Sanzhar "neaLaN" Iskhakov is more hurt by the defeat.