Sources - VALORANT: penny Set to Join Cloud9 in VCT Americas for 2026

After a somewhat average—if not disappointing—season given the potential of its roster, Cloud9 have begun restructuring ahead of the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour Americas. On October 27, the North American organization announced the departure of Mitchell “mitch” Semago, signaling that changes were on the horizon. Those changes quickly began to take shape, as Sheep Esports reported the very same day that Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro would be re-joining the team for 2026.

Now, on October 28, Cloud9 have secured their second signing for the upcoming season. According to sources close to Sheep Esports, Erik “penny” Penny has reached a verbal agreement to join the organization.

Having last played for Apeks in the VCT EMEA, penny is making his return to North America by signing with Cloud9. The Canadian Duelist left the region midway through 2025, first joining Team Liquid for the Masters Toronto, and later the Norwegian team for the European VCT circuit.

Several teams reportedly showed interest in penny’s profile, but in the end, he chose to join C9. Penny could have played in different regions without being considered an import because, in addition to his Canadian nationality, he also had an EMEA citizenship.

Penny will return to VCT Americas after a really brief stint in 2025, when he competed during one match at the Kickoff event with FURIA, which he won. Following that, he returned to the Challengers League, representing YFP during Stage 2, where he finished 4th before moving across the Atlantic to join Team Liquid for Masters Toronto. Although TL fell short of playoffs, exiting the Swiss Stage with a 1–2 record, penny showed what he was capable of on the international stage. His standout performance came against Bilibili Gaming, where he dropped 30 kills with Phoenix, demonstrating his value. He then remained in EMEA for Stage 2, this time under Apeks’ banner, though the team struggled, finishing 0–5 in groups, which prematurely ended their split.

Across 2025, penny represented four different organizations within Riot’s official circuit—FURIA, YFP, Team Liquid, and Apeks. His move to Cloud9 could finally offer him stability and another chance to prove himself at the highest level.

With Zellsis and penny, Cloud9 have already locked in two key players for 2026. While nothing has been confirmed yet, all signs indicate that the rest of the roster will remain intact. This would mean Victor “v1c” Truong, Francis “OXY” Huang, and Erick “Xeppaa” Bach will round out the lineup alongside the new additions.

Despite a shaky start to 2025—9–12th at Kickoff and 7–8th at Stage 1—Cloud9 found their rhythm later in the season, finishing 4th in Stage 2. While results didn’t always meet expectations, the team showed flashes of brilliance especially with individual performances.

OXY, for instance, displayed exceptional consistency and mechanical skill, frequently topping both the K:D ratio and Average Combat Score (ACS) rankings across all the VCT leagues. v1c and Xeppaa also made appearances on those leaderboards, underlining their value within the roster.

With the arrivals of Zellsis and Penny, C9 may finally find the bright spots they needed to chase away the storm clouds hanging over their VCT history for some time.