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The reigning League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) champions, Cloud9, announced the return of their star ADC Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen. The Danish LoL esports star will return to the starting lineup after spending the first three weeks of the season in the academy league.
Zven Too Good For Academy League
Cloud9 announced the reinstalment of Zven to their starting LoL lineup on Tuesday, June 22. The Dane will make a return after spending the last three weeks as a member of Cloud9’s Academy team.
The North American esports organization announced Zven’s return on Twitter, with a simple post stating “He’s back” with a picture of Zven.
Cloud9 benched Zven on Saturday, May 29, when he got demoted to Cloud9 Academy and replaced by Calvin “k1ng” Truong, who took over as Cloud9’s starting ADC. It was unclear why Cloud9 decided to bench their star player, but it soon became apparent that Zven is too good to be playing in an academy league.
During his short stint in the LCS Academy League, Zven posted the highest numbers in the team and was a big part of Cloud9 Academy’s 9-3 run. Zven ended his short trip to the lower division with a 75% Win Rate, 5.33, 10.46 KDA, 9.58 CS/min, 63% Kill Participation, and 29.6% Team Kill Share.
That run includes an average of 5.33 kills per game and only 1.08 deaths across nine games.
Cloud9 Not The Same Without Zven
While Zven was crushing it in the LCS Academy league, his team struggled to impress across the first three weeks of the LCS 2021 Summer split. Across nine games, Cloud9 managed a lackluster 4-5 record.
Cloud9 are now on a three-game losing streak after going winless last week with losses to TSM, Immortals, and Evil Geniuses. Although Zven’s absence was noticeable, it’s hard to blame K1ng as the leading cause of Cloud9’s struggles.
K1ng has posted a solid 5.8 KDA during his stint in the LCS, establishing himself as the second-best ADC in the league. He trailed only behind 100 Thieves’ Ian Victor “FBI” Huang (7.29 KDA).
Even though K1ng has managed to carry his weight at the highest level of competition, Cloud9 felt that changes are needed. As good as K1ng has proven to be, Zven is still one of the most experienced LoL esports pro players and one of the best Nort American ADCs.
With Zven back on the team, Cloud9 will hope they can bounce back from their poor start of the split and reclaim the top spot in the LCS rankings. Due to their underwhelming showings, Cloud9 are no longer the first-placed team in the league, a position that was taken from them by TSM.
Cloud9 Hoping For a Perfect Week
Cloud9 will enter LCS 2021 Summer Week 4 hungry to prove their worth, as they look for a perfect 3-0 week to improve their standings ahead of the LCS Championship. Their first match with Zven back on the roster is scheduled for Friday, June 25, when Cloud9 clash with Golden Guardians.
Odds for Cloud9 vs. Golden Guardians Match
Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:
- Cloud9 -588
- Golden Guardians +370
- Cloud9 -10.5 kills +116
- Golden Guardians +10.5 Kills -159
- Over 26.5 Kills +105
- Under 26.5 Kills -143
Golden Guardians enter this match as heavy underdogs, which makes a lot of sense. As by far the weakest team from LCS 2021 Spring, not many people expect much from Golden Guardians this split, as they lack the talent to compete for top spots.
Despite being viewed as an LCS underdog, Golden Guardians stunned Cloud9 on the opening day of the split. They have since added two more victories against FlyQuest and Dignitas.
Golden Guardians’ success last time out, however, shouldn’t be overvalued as it was a complete fluke win that isn’t likely to repeat on Friday. Cloud9 need to bounce back and start winning games, and with Zven back on the roster, we can expect the reigning LCS champions to show no mercy against LCS whipping boys.