Cloud9 New York BO6 Season Preview

Cloud9 New York Black Ops 6 Season Preview: Bright Lights in the Big City

As the offseason comes to a close, the Call of Duty League gears up for another thrilling season. The CDL's landscape has changed drastically, with franchises joining and new super teams being formed. The new-look New York franchise is ready to create a new path. After being acquired by Cloud9, the franchise has rebooted around star player Daunte "Sib" Gray going into the new title. In this season preview, we’ll dive into Cloud9’s offseason moves, key players to watch, and what are their expectations compared to the competition within the CDL.

📸 Photo by @C9COD_

Offseason Recap: Goodbye to the Old, Hello to the New

Signings:
+ Dillon "Attach" Price
+ Kyle "Kremp" Haworth
+ Makenzie "Mack" Kelley
+ Lamar "Accuracy" Abedi
+ Arian "Arian" Chitsaz
+ John "2Pac" Hartley
Releases:
- Matthew "KiSMET" Tinsley
- Cesar "Skyz" Bueno
- Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez
- Troy "Sender" Michaels
- Ehsan "DREAL" Javed

Cloud9 New York had a chaotic offseason this year, from purchasing the franchise slot to rebuilding the roster & coaching staff, this team had a busy offseason. With superstar HyDra leaving the team, it left the organization in a tough spot. They had to decide what was their best path forward.

The path chosen was to bring back Sib & build a strong roster around him. Sib is an elite and aggressive AR talent in the League, so the team still had the opportunity to compete with the best with the right moves. Signing a veteran AR in Attach to hold down the Main AR was the opening move, followed by the signing of Kremp from LA Thieves. Filling the final position was ex-Subliner Mack, who made his rookie debut with the Subliners in the 2019 season. To give the team an additional edge, Cloud9 invested in a strong coaching staff of Accuracy, Arian, and 2Pac. If they can click together, the squad has top 4 potential this season.

The Cloud9 New York roster heading into Black Ops 6:

○ Daunte "Sib" Gray
○ Dillon "Attach" Price
○ Kyle "Kremp" Haworth
○ Makenzie "Mack" Kelley
○ Lamar "Accuracy" Abedi [Coach]
○ Arian "Arian" Chitsaz [Analyst]
○ John "2Pac" Hartley [SND Analyst]

Offseason Reactions

Ronnie: "C9 had a very tough first offseason in the CDL with superstar player Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez wanting to leave unless the team could get Toronto Ultra superstar Thomas "Scrappy" Ernst and they couldn't, so both of these players went to LAT, leaving C9 without the superstar and a trio of Matthew "KiSMET" Tinsley, Cesar "Skyz" Bueno, and Daunte "Sib" Gray not wanting to play with each other.

The organization had to make a decision about who they wanted to build around; they went with Sib. Who has teamed up with long-term friends Dillon "Attach" Price and Makenzie "Mack" Kelley while adding Kyle "Kremp" Haworth to complete the roster while adding legendry IGL Lamar "Accuracy" Abedi as the head coach. Plenty of fans have this roster as the 4th best on paper; personally, I have them more around the 5th-6th mark, but considering the situation they went into the offseason with, you would say they did a fairly good job."

Easy Mac: “It's hard to have a fantastic offseason when you lose an MVP talent in HyDra, but the team managed to stay in the hunt for Sundays with some savvy moves. Attach has had a slower pace in recent years, but he plays much more efficiently when paired with an aggressive AR partner. With Sib, I think he'll perform well.

For the SMGs, Kremp showed a lot of potential with LA last year but also showed that his consistency isn't all the way there yet. Mack is a good gap filler, but after not playing in the Pro League last season, there are questions. Filling the coaching staff was very smart to help the team develop and give them an edge against the rest of the midfield, but overall there are some high right-risk, high-reward pieces."

Season Expectations

Ronnie: “Season expectations should be to come to most events and make sure you are making Sundays and giving the big 3 a run for their money at every event, and if you get hot at an event, make sure you make the most of the good form. Making sure you are safely in the champs qualification position will be key, so instead of worrying about getting much-needed points near the end of the season, you can put full focus into being ready for COD Champs."

Black Ops 6 Season Predictions

Best Placement: 4th
Team MVP: Sib
Final Regular Season Seed: 6th
Will they qualify for Champs: Yes

Easy Mac: “The parity in the middle of the League is actually very interesting. There are a lot of teams that are going to be competing to make it to Sundays, with New York being one of the leaders. I'd expect them to be a feisty opponent for any of the top 3 teams, with the potential to take them down on any given day. The issues will be how will all the new pieces come together and whether will they be consistent. Toronto will have the early edge for the 4th seed for me, but they aren't far behind."

Black Ops 6 Season Predictions

Best Placement: 3rd
Team MVP: Sib
Final Regular Season Seed: 5th
Will they qualify for Champs: Yes

Players to Watch in Black Ops 6

Ronnie: “Makenzie "Mack" Kelley. Mack attack is back, baby. After a year out for personal reasons, Mack is back to make up for lost time. He will have a lot of pressure on him, especially after turning down the Royal Ravens to immediately join C9. He will be wanting to prove that was the right decision. Mack tends to be a hot and cold player, but if C9 can get Vangaud Mack, they could be looking like a dangerous squad."

Easy Mac: “Sib will always be the player to watch on this team. When he gets hot, he's one of the best players in the League. He continuously is one of the best in damage output and isn't afraid to challenge any fight. The questions will arise about how he'll play without another high slayer like HyDra next to him, but there is room for other players to step up."

Stage 1 Matches

Qualifier Match 1: December 7th at 7:30 EST vs LA Thieves
Qualifier Match 2: December 8th at 6:00 EST vs OpTic Texas
Qualifier Match 3: December 13th at 4:30 EST vs Minnesota Rokkr
Qualifier Match 4: December 15th at 6:00 EST vs Carolina Royal Ravens
Qualifier Match 5: January 17th at 3:00 EST vs LA Guerrillas
Qualifier Match 6: January 18th at 4:30 EST vs Miami Heretics
Qualifier Match 7: January 26th at 4:30 EST vs Atlanta FaZe

The first Minor begins on January 10th, while the first Major starts on January 30th.