Benched Cloud9 Valorant star Michael “neT” Bernet has hit out at his former Cloud9 teammates over feedback made about him and his alternative in a podcast.
North American group Cloud9 just lately introduced adjustments to its Valorant roster, signing Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro and Erik “penny” Penny, shifting neT and Mitchell “mitch” Semago out of the beginning lineup.
Nevertheless, drama sparked when neT known as out the workforce for utilizing his identify “in a destructive gentle for content material,” after Cloud9’s podcast framed his benching as an “improve” and that the brand new lineup could be extra “secure” and “constant.”
Following the brand new workforce’s announcement, Cloud9 launched a podcast video on YouTube, the place the 2 new additions and coach Ian “Immi” Harding sat down to speak. Immi was unusually direct on the present.
Within the first two minutes of the podcast, Immi didn’t draw back from calling the transfer an “improve.”
“We completed our season, and we knew we needed to have an improve for Michael [neT]. That was the principle factor.”
Deeper into the video, the coach continued with feedback that rubbed neT the mistaken means. Immi talked about the workforce needed to usher in gamers that had been extra “secure” and “constant,” implying that neT lacked these qualities.
“For me, each workforce probably has a participant who’s subsequent, like that’s simply pure. It simply is. There’s all the time that participant who’s missing. And I really feel like with this new workforce, with [Zellsis] and [penny] coming in, I don’t see that anyplace. I really feel like everyone seems to be secure, psychological.
“And that was an enormous factor as nicely with changing neT. I wanted somebody who was secure and constant in each facet, and penny is only a constant individual and a constant participant. In order that was actually vital.”
Although Immi’s intention might need been to hype up his new gamers on the workforce, neT believed such phrasing got here off as dismissive.
neT Responds: “Tremendous Unprofessional and Fallacious”
Shortly after the podcast was launched, neT himself took to social media to precise disappointment in how the group dealt with the scenario. Though there have been no direct assaults on him, he felt blindsided by how the workforce framed his benching, given the content material launched to the general public.
It’s value noting that neT is actively in search of a brand new workforce for the upcoming 2026 VCT season, and such feedback from a former coach might negatively influence his worth. Groups could second-guess their choices on selecting him up due to how he was portrayed by his former workforce.
As of now, the Valorant group is producing blended reactions. Some followers really feel for neT, agreeing that a few of the feedback had been pointless.
Nevertheless, others identified that neT had been one of many weaker members on the roster and that it could be illogical for the workforce’s coach to downplay his new gamers.
