Cloud9 only earned a place in the Valorant Champions Tour partner league in the Americas region after G2 Esports was bumped due to a co-founder’s controversy.

Reports last month said that G2 was denied a VCT Americas slot following Carlos Rodriguez partying with divisive internet personality Andrew Tate, who was under fire for repeated misogynistic comments. Rodriguez initially doubled down on his right to mingle with Tate, soon issued an apology and eventually resigned as CEO of G2.

Esports consultant Rod “Slasher” Breslau said on a livestream that G2’s loss was Cloud9’s gain, Dexerto reported Monday.

“I found out that Cloud9 was actually the final team on the bubble,” Slasher said. “A very good source tells me that Cloud9 replaced G2, not Evil Geniuses. EG was already in. … That’s when Carlos screwed up and Cloud9 got in.”

Cloud9 has a long history playing Valorant but were apparently on the cusp of not being chosen as a partner for the VCT Americas league. OpTic Gaming missed out altogether despite a strong history in Valorant.

The VCT Americas season begins in March. Half the league’s 10 teams are based out of the U.S.: Cloud9, NRG, Sentinels, 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses.

–Field Level Media