According to Sheep Esports sources, Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen is set to make his return to Cloud9 as the team's starting ADC — a position he has not played since the organization picked up Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol ahead of the 2022 season. In mid-September, Sheep Esports reported that Berserker would depart the roster after three seasons as the team's star carry, opening the path for Zven's return in his preferred role. Since Zven is signed to Dignitas until 2025, per the Global Contract Database, C9 had to negotiate a buyout to secure him for their roster.

Cloud9 also looked into Khalil "Rin" Sahraoui, ADC for Ramboot Club in the LVP, but decided to prioritize an ADC that wouldn't take up an import slot — with Zven, C9 are free to import a mid laner. This final piece, an import talent C9 are desperate to find, will mark the organization's eighth unique mid laner since 2019. Seven of those players were non-native to NA.

Since their back-to-back wins in 2013 Summer and 2014 Spring, C9 has never won the LCS Championship without Zven. Coming into the 2024 season with a roster built around Joseph Joon "jojopyun" Pyun and Berserker — two of the best players the LCS has ever seen — C9 were unanimously expected to change that. In the end, they didn't even manage to qualify for an international tournament.

A perfect fit

The first time around, Zven joined the C9 ahead of the 2020 LCS season, going on to win two Spring splits in a row with the team. When Berserker made his Tier 1 debut with the team, Zven was benched for the Spring split but returned in Summer as a support.

After winning two championships on his off-role, Zven chose to leave C9 at the end of the 2023 season in search of a team that would allow him to play ADC. After being teamless for the Spring split, Zven joined a Dignitas roster of veterans in Summer as the team's star carry, but the team fell short in the end. Still, his performance was impressive enough to earn him once again a spot on a top team — and, with C9 in the market for an ADC, it was a perfect fit.

As Cloud9 makes its final decisions about its roster and coaching staff, Sheep Esports will report on any updates. To keep up with the offseason at large, check out the Transfers Hub.