Cloud9 partners with League of Legends NACL team Conviction

North American esports organization Cloud9 has announced a partnership with the NACL team Convinction for the current 2025 season.

Cloud9 to provide coaching support to NACL team Convinction

According to the official announcement on X, the League of Legends team Cloud9 KIA will provide coaching support to Conviction’s roster through coaches Inero and Veigar V2. C9 is looking to develop the North American talents and create a new generation of competitive players.

This is not the first time the esports team teams up with NACL teams. Earlier last summer, C9 also partnered with Blue Otter, providing similar support to the tier-two scene. The organization is known for fostering young players and then putting them on the team’s starting lineup, such as jungler Blaber and former C9 top laner Fudge.

C9 is still pushing young talents without participating in the Challengers League

Cloud9 made the difficult decision to pause its efforts in NACL back in 2023 when it ended the development program. The organization stated that NACL didn’t provide a definitive path to becoming a pro and that the financial burden, which cost over one million per year, was the main reason behind the step back.

The LTA has seen a new wave of domestic talents on the rise, as organizations have moved away from signing established veterans, who are usually more expensive and might not have enough longevity in terms of peak potential.

Founded in 2013 and based in Santa Monica, California, C9 currently operates across several game titles, including League of Legends, VALORANT, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends, among others. Earlier this year, the team announced its return to the Rainbow Six Siege scene while also stepping back from Counter-Strike 2.

The team has recently ended the LTA North Split 2 in second place and will compete in the playoffs for a spot at the Mid-Season Invitational that will take place later next month in Vancouver, Canada.