Erik “penny” Penny and Cloud9 had a tough start to the VCT Americas 2026 Kickoff campaign after losing badly to the world champions NRG. We talked with penny about the team, Chamber in the current game, reuniting with Zellsis, and other topics.
More bad news came for the team as star player Francis “OXY” Hoang had to take time off because of a personal family problem. But, adding Max “Demon1” Mazanov helped Cloud9 start winning again against Demon1’s old team, Leviatán.
Q) What do you think about the two Duelist setup that’s popular right now? Could you also explain why Cloud9 are one of the few teams that don’t really use two Duelists on most maps?
penny: I think it’s very strong right now, but it depends a lot on how well the players can fight and get kills. If you don’t use two Duelists, you can focus more on using tools and abilities. I think Chamber is also part of this two Duelist style. He’s very powerful, and people are afraid to play against him, especially if you have someone like Demon1 or me using him. I think both ways of using two Duelists are good, but we just chose to use Chamber more recently.
Q) What are your thoughts on Chamber being back in the game?
penny: One reason he’s back is because the starter characters got weaker, which makes it harder to get him off his spot. Even if you do get him off his spot, you don’t have the tools to attack the area because it takes so long to get them back. That’s definitely one of the best things about him.
Q) You had an interesting 2025 where you spent time in EMEA with Team Liquid and Apeks. Did you learn a new way to play or a different style?
penny: I would say the biggest thing I learned in EMEA is how teams work together there. Obviously, it’s very different since people are from different countries, have different cultures, and speak different languages. I wouldn’t say I learned too much about VALORANT but more about life where I learned to interact and be friends with people from different cultures who act differently than where I’m from. I think it was really helpful and I’m glad I went to EMEA even though it didn’t go so well at Apeks. I met a lot of great people and learned a lot about myself.
Q) Would you say 2025 was one of the most important years in your VALORANT career since you were playing in lower-tier teams before coming back to the top with Liquid and then Apeks?
penny: Yeah. I was thankful for the Liquid chance. I knew going to Apeks would be hard, but I felt it would be better for me to go there and take the risk to see if I could play well. Obviously, everyone knew it would be tough to win many games there but maybe one or two wins would have been nice, which we could have done but it didn’t work out. However, my goal was to give my best, take the risk, and make it one of the best years to get back to the top like you said.
Q) I talked to FURIA’s koalanoob about his time as a Duelist in Natus Vincere. He said Duelists in EMEA are more individualistic and tend to make many crazy plays because of their skills. Do you agree with this or have a different opinion?
penny: From what I noticed, the Duelists in EMEA didn’t seem very important. There aren’t many Duelists I can remember, except one or two like Kaajak and Derke, because they played well every week. The other Duelists were not consistent, as the team expects them to just go in and be team players. However, it was a lot different than that in my experience. That’s what I saw from the other Duelists, and there weren’t many statistically good Duelists in EMEA compared to NA, where most of the top players are probably Duelists. In EMEA, I only feel like one or two were high up there, and the rest were either Controllers or Initiators.
Q) You’re back in VCT Americas and it’s somewhat like a mini Version1 reunion with Zellsis and immi. How has it been working with them again?
penny: I’m thankful to be here. I don’t want to say I’m lucky because I worked hard for it but it’s lucky to be on a team with familiar faces and at the higher level of teams in Americas because most teams in their first year don’t get that lucky to be a top team but I’m back in a top team in my first year back in VCT Americas. I’m grateful for that and it’s been great so far.
Q) A lot of people expect G2 Esports, MIBR, and NRG to be the best teams in VCT Americas this year. However, it feels like an open field for the rest of the teams. Do you think this Cloud9 roster has what it takes to finally make it to an international event and possibly be the very best outside of the big three?
penny: I think the only teams we really respect are the top teams right now. Based on how they play, those are G2 and NRG. Obviously, MIBR is very skilled, but I think they are limited by the characters they play and stuff like this. I feel like they have some role problems considering the current game style, so that’s why I’m not putting them up there, but they have five amazing players. I consider Cloud9 as right up there as the top four.
Q) Are you somewhat surprised that MIBR are not using two Duelists with aspas and zekken?
penny: I think it would make more sense right now for them to do that but zekken’s very skilled and can do whatever. However, he might take some time to get into that form. They won their game and it looked really good but he really didn’t have to do anything which kind of says a lot about how skilled they are.
Q) Do you have any final thoughts to share with the fans of Cloud9 and you?
penny: I appreciate everyone for the support. Obviously, with our current situation, I appreciate everyone’s support for OXY as it means a lot to him, but it also means a lot to us as we are seeing that. It’s a horrible circumstance, and we are all with him and love him. It’s nice to see the fans and everyone else are with him, too.
