woxic signs for Cloud9: “I’m going to bring back the real woxic”

The Turkish AWPer has vowed to return to his best in the 'Colossus' after a turbulent end to his MOUZ tenure.

Cloud9 have announced that they have completed the signing of Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker from MOUZ. The Turkish AWPer becomes the third member of the new team that the North American organisation is putting together following the arrivals of in-game leader Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin and rising talent William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman.

Just like his new teammates, woxic has signed a three-year contract, according to Cloud9 general manager Henry "⁠HenryG⁠" Greer, who added that the deal is worth $1.365 million.

“When I was talking to [Cloud9 general manager] HenryG, I saw that he was doing things the right way,” woxic told HLTV.org. “I had some other offers, but Cloud9’s was the best one. My main goal is to win tournaments. When I saw the opportunity that this represented and what they’re willing to give to the players, I thought that everyone was going to feel comfortable, which is the most important thing. If players are not comfortable, you cannot win tournaments, even if you create a star team. When I was told everything about Cloud9, I saw that in five or six months we would have success."

woxic enjoyed a prolific year of 2019 for MOUZ following his transfer from HellRaisers in March of that year. He helped the team to win a handful of LAN tournaments, most notably CS:GO Asia Championships and ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals, winning an MVP award at the former event. He was also ranked the 12th-best player of 2019, becoming the first-ever Turkish player to feature in HLTV.org’s end-of-year ranking.

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But woxic, just like the rest of the team, dropped off only a few months into 2020. After winning ICE Challenge and placing second in ESL Pro League Season 11, MOUZ went on a downward spiral for the rest of the season that saw them make multiple group stage exits. woxic played just one tournament after the player break before heading to the bench to make way for newcomer Aurimas "⁠Bymas⁠" Pipiras.

“The online period was hard and we didn’t win anything, we just kept losing,” he explained. “Whatever we did, it just wasn’t working. We even changed our whole stratbook. Maybe it was because of the way we worked, maybe it was because of the way we analysed our opponents — I don’t know the exact reason, but something was wrong.

“I had some talks with the coach and with the organisation, and I said that I didn’t want to play [anymore]. They had also thought about putting me on the bench, so we reached an agreement. It wasn't just about results, there were some personal reasons as well, but I cannot talk about it.”

Despite his MOUZ tenure ending quietly and without much fanfare, woxic said that he will hold onto the good things and insisted that there has been no breakdown in his relationship with his former teammates.

“I'm still so happy because I was a part of that team and that organization,” he said. “It was huge when I got the offer from karrigan. Everyone knows him, he’s a legend. I have no problem with any of my ex-teammates, I will still talk to them, I will still spend time with them when I see them at a tournament or something.”

woxic has faced huge criticism since a 1pv report suggested that he was ousted from MOUZ’ starting lineup due to “various problems concerning his attitude”. It has been hard for him to remain indifferent after being labelled “toxic” by the community, yet he insisted that he never feared that this would be a stain on his career. Still, he was keen to set the record straight.

“If the poor attitude thing were true, I would fear for my career,” he said. “But when you and everyone I have played or worked with know that it’s not true, it doesn’t matter. Because of that article, people started spreading some rumours about me and started saying that I was toxic. That kind of comment makes me uncomfortable because this is not true. I’m hungrier than before because of this situation. I want to shut everyone up.

“There’s also a lot of people who keep supporting me, and I’m really glad about that. Whatever happens to me, wherever I go, these people change their profile pictures to support my teams. They just keep supporting me, no matter what, so I’m really happy to have them. I promise to them that I’m going to bring back the real woxic in Cloud9.”

woxic will use those negative comments as fuel for the challenges that lie ahead, the first of which will be Flashpoint 2 — a tournament that HenryG has billed as a must-win for his team. He still doesn’t know who his last two teammates will be — three if you consider that Cloud9 are building a six-man roster —, but his confidence is unwavering, his ambition boundless. He is determined to restore the glory days to Cloud9 and has his eyes locked on the biggest prize of all.

“We have to win Flashpoint, this is going to be our first big challenge,” he said. “We haven’t talked about other tournaments yet, but of course everyone wants to win a Major, we want to bring one more to Cloud9.

“Before I stop playing this game, I want to win a Major.”

Cloud9's new team currently have:

Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin
William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman
Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker

Aleksandar "⁠kassad⁠" Trifunović (coach)