Cloud9 sign Stewie2k

Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip, who just recently turned 18-years-old, will receive a big trial for his career as the young player has now been signed by Cloud9, one of North America's premium brand teams.

Stewie2K rose to prominence on the North American pugging scene last year and was ostensibly scouted via a SKDC lineup before moving on the an ex-eLevate roster that then became FollowEsports.com (and later rebranded to SPLYCE).

The 18-year-old received some much noticed offline exposure at the RGN Pro Series, where he played on a Torqued mix and was noticed by HLTV.org, who featured the player in his first video interview to that date.

Stewie2K had a second offline event in Northern Arena, where SPLYCE finished in 3-4th place.

Stewie2K's departure from SPLYCE in December fueled speculation the player was on his way to greener pastures, and this signing will see a still unproven talent brought on board with many expectations of North American fans foisted upon him as a result.

In a statement to Cloud9's website, Stewie2K elaborated on his thoughts on joining the storied North American roster:

"I'd like to thank Cloud9 as an organization, and the team itself, for giving me this chance. Although the majority of the community may not approve of this decision, I fully intend to change their minds. This is a huge opportunity and I will do everything to reach my full potential and achieve the goals I've set for myself. The team believes in me and I am confident that playing alongside them will help propel me to new heights. I mean, after all, that is what team sports are all about."

In addition, team manager Tres "⁠stunna⁠" Saranthus had this to add:

"In our search for a 5th we were able to test how we wanted to operate and see what different styles we were comfortable with. Filling the void left by Sean is not easily accomplished, especially when you consider what a major component he was within the team. We feel comfortable going forward with Stewie2k for a variety of reasons, namely his desire to prove himself as a top tier player.

We recognize his lack of experience, as does he. We will be investing all of our resources in ensuring he becomes the world-class player we see him to be. We are also currently working on securing the assistance of a coach who we feel best benefits our play style."

Cloud9's lineup is now:

Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert
Mike "⁠shroud⁠" Grzesiek
Ryan "⁠freakazoid⁠" Abadir
Tyler "⁠Skadoodle⁠" Latham
Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip 

stich writes for HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter