APA officially joins Cloud9

This Friday, Cloud9 officially announced the signing of their new mid laner Eain “APA” Stearns for the 2026 LCS season. He will replace Lee “Loki” Sang-min, who had to return to Korea for personal reasons after this year.

According to Sheep Esports, the North American midlaner should complete Cloud9’s roster, as the team is not planning any further changes. Still, APA will have big shoes to fill: Loki was arguably the Rookie of the Year in 2025, adapting perfectly to the team and becoming one of its most consistent performers. They finished second in both Split 1 (also securing a podium in the cross-conference stage) and Split 2, then placed fourth in Split 3 after a narrow 2–3 loss to 100 Thieves — a result that perfectly summed up their year: heartbreaking five-game defeats whenever the stakes were highest.

The organization is clearly aiming for better results after a disappointing season with no trophies and no international appearances on Riot’s official circuit. With the return of the LCS in 2026, there should be more room to help them meet their ambitions. Cloud9 also confirmed the departure of head coach Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu, who will be replaced by former assistant coach Nick “Inero” Smith. Inero will be supported by former pro player turned prominent content creator Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera, who recently went bald because of Faker. IWD will join Cloud9 as a strategic coach for 2026.

Extremely Veteran. Maybe the oldest living veteran mind. https://t.co/lz8D5wTIVG

— Christian Rivera (@IWDominate) November 21, 2025

Rumors also suggest that Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung will take APA’s spot on TL. Team Liquid— one of the most prestigious organizations in LCS history — struggled this year despite a perfect start. They became the first—and only—team to be eliminated from First Stand before the knockout stage, and things only got worse domestically afterward, with a 4th-place finish in Split 2 and a 5th–6th-place finish in Split 3. The team is reportedly overhauling its entire top side: LATAM veteran Josedeodo is expected to replace rookie Yuuji, while former BRION top laner Park “Morgan” Ru-han will take over for one of the league’s most decorated players: Jeong “Impact” Eon-young. This marks the start of a new cycle for a roster that had kept a similar core for the past two to three years.