On Saturday, Feb. 19, the League of Legends community was left in shock after Cloud9 surprisingly parted ways with Nick “LS” De Cesare, the team’s head coach.

The American had been behind the wheel of the squad since Dec. 1, 2021. And, despite being a part of the roster for such a short amount of time, fans of the LCS had already seen his influence on the team’s playstyle.

Neither C9 nor LS underlined the reasons behind the sudden departure. But mid laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami shared his perspective in an interview with Travis Gafford on Sunday, Feb. 20.

“I already sort of knew it was going to happen before it happened,” Fudge said. “Whilst it was happening, I sort of knew there were problems, then once it finally happened, I was like ‘yeah, I sort of expected it to happen.”

The unfortunate situation C9 have found themselves in doesn’t necessarily bother the mid laner, though—at least not as much as other issues behind the scenes. “I’m not upset about the situation with LS, I’m a little bit disappointed with our preparation,” Fudge said. “I think that’s a very big problem that, regardless of LS, we have to fix.”

“I don’t feel like it’s a really bad situation, just because I think that it probably was the best outcome for both parties… because it wasn’t really working,” Fudge added.

Although the situation looks bleak, Fudge reassures fans that there’s no need to panic and that the direction the team is taking doesn’t mean C9 will immediately become a bottom-tier squad in the LCS. C9 are still “a top-four team,” he said.

The player also highlighted LS’ creative drafts, which he says were the former coach’s “biggest contribution” to the team. Fudge now expects C9 to tone down its drafts in the future and follow more “standard” compositions.

Fans, according to Fudge, will “soon get clarity on the [LS] situation.” C9 are still going to be a “very good team,” he said.

C9 return to action on Saturday, Feb. 26, when they face off against Dignitas in the 2022 LCS Spring Split.

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