kassad leaves Cloud9
The Serbian coach is out of the Colossus after less than four months.
Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović has left Cloud9, the organization has announced. According to General Manager Henry "HenryG" Greer, the decision to part ways was a result of a stylistic clash between the coach and in-game leader Alex "ALEX" McMeekin.
"No one is or was at fault and there is absolutely no bad blood between him, the org, or players," HenryG stressed. "It simply felt like there was somewhat of a stylistic clash between the IGL [ALEX] and kassad's game, leading to a few too many compromises from a strategic point of view."
At the moment, Cloud9 don't have a replacement lined up, with the Brit admitting that options are limited after ESIC banned 37 coaches in September as a result of their use of the infamous coaching bug, and once again calling on candidates to get in touch with him.
"I am still deciding which path to follow regarding the position," HenryG has stated. "Considering the recent controversy around the role, my options are rather limited. Also, I think coaching is still a bit of a dark art we haven't quite harnessed when it comes to CS:GO. With that said, I am absolutely willing to take a gamble on someone looking to prove themselves at the very top."
kassad had been a part of Cloud9 since early September as one of the first two pieces of the organization's new CS:GO division dubbed the "Colossus", alongside the General Manager. He helped assemble the rest of the squad over the course of September and went on to coach them at four tournaments in the last month of the 2020 season, as the team most notably placed in the top four at BLAST Premier Fall Showdown and made it to the playoffs at DreamHack Masters Winter.
With the coach's departure, Cloud9 look as follows:
Alex "ALEX" McMeekin
Özgür "woxic" Eker
William "mezii" Merriman
Ricky "floppy" Kemery
Patrick "es3tag" Hansen