By Dom Sacco and Megalodontus
North American esports powerhouse Cloud9 have teamed up with Iceland’s largest esports org, Dusty, who have played in the UK/Nordics NLC competition.
Cloud9 have contracted Dusty as their exclusive 2021 Worlds partner to ‘ensure optimal success’ in League of Legends’ most prestigious esports competition, which kicks off in Iceland from October 2021.
As Worlds partner, Dusty will provide training facilities, logistics support, promotional opportunities and other services to add to Cloud9’s success. The organisations will collaborate across several media platforms to raise the profile of this partnership and contribute to the growing esports ecosystem.
The 2021 League of Legends World Championship was previously due to take place in multiple cities across China but Riot moved it to Europe in light of travel restrictions and COVID protocols, in order to get as many players and teams together as possible.
Worlds will now take place in Reykjavik, Iceland, without a live audience, in the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena, from October 5th to November 6th 2021. There will be no live audience, much like MSI and VCT Masters earlier this year, which we spoke to Dusty and the Icelandic Esports Association about.
“We are excited to work with Dusty while competing at Worlds. It’s incredible to be travelling to Iceland for the competition, and it really shows the global nature of esports.”
Jack Etienne, Cloud9
Since starting in 2013, Cloud9 have become one of the leading esports organisations in the world. Their League of Legends team takes part in the North American LCS, where they recently finished third in the Summer 2021 season to qualify for Worlds. This will be Cloud9’s eighth Worlds tournament.
Dusty’s CEO Asbjorn Daniel commented: “We are thrilled to be working with a behemoth in the industry like Cloud9. The partnership is a tremendous testament to the hard work everyone associated with Dusty have put in and has all the necessary ingredients to expedite our rapid growth even further.
“In my view, this collaboration recognizes the fact that esports is truly a borderless phenom and solidifies our belief that an organisation from Iceland can build a genuinely differentiated brand in this market on a global scale.”
Jack Etienne, CEO of Cloud9, added: “We are excited to work with Dusty while competing at Worlds. It’s incredible to be travelling to Iceland for the competition, and it really shows the global nature of esports.
“Beyond Cloud9, I am passionate about growing esports at large, and brave ventures like Dusty are vital to advancing our industry. I believe we are creating the best environment possible for us to enjoy successful Worlds. Now it’s just time to perform.”
More Cloud9 content: Earlier this year, Cloud9 signed ‘the other Perkz’, a school teacher from Leicester also known as Emily Perkins.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
