All
74
LOUD2.1703.05.26 17:00Bo32:1
Cloud91.68
0% 
LOUD WIN0% 
Cloud9 WINOn May 3, as part of Week 4 of the group stage at VCT 2026: Americas Stage 1, a classic rivalry matchup between LOUD and Cloud9 will take place. The series will be played in a best-of-three format. This is an absolutely critical battle for both organizations, as both teams are currently sitting at a 1–2 record. A win here is essential to stay in the playoff race, while a loss could effectively end their Stage 1 campaign.
Bookmakers heavily favor Cloud9 in this matchup — odds for their victory are around ~1.42–1.48 against ~2.68–2.75 for LOUD. Despite both teams having identical 1–2 records, Cloud9's dominant recent victory over MIBR and their convincing win over LOUD earlier this year at the Kickoff tournament make them the clear statistical favorites in the eyes of analysts.
This match represents a battle of heavily retooled 2026 rosters. LOUD is fielding a mix of veteran champions and regional rookies, while Cloud9 brings a high-firepower lineup spearheaded by one of the most explosive duelists in the region.
LOUD lineup:
Cloud9 lineup:
LOUD enter this match with a 1–2 record, currently struggling to find consistency and struggling heavily with their defensive holds against structured teams.
In their first match, they managed to squeeze out a narrow 2–1 victory over ENVY. The series was incredibly messy, but Darker and lukxo were absolutely insane and carried the team. Darker secured a massive 53 kills across the series, while lukxo delivered crucial clutches to keep them alive in the server.In their second match, they suffered a demoralizing 0–2 sweep against MIBR in the Brazilian derby. They were completely read by their opponents and failed to establish any map control.In their third match, they were swept again, this time 0–2 by G2 Esports. Their attack halves looked disjointed, and the team's overall trading mechanics fell flat against G2's discipline.
Current Stage 1 record:
During the massive late 2025 off-season, LOUD underwent significant restructuring, bringing in new talent like Virtyy, Darker, and lukxo to rebuild alongside their championship core of cauanzin and pANcada. However, this new iteration had a disastrous debut at the VCT 2026: Americas Kickoff. They were eliminated early after a brutal 0–2 loss to Cloud9, looking entirely disconnected. Their current Stage 1 form suggests the rebuilding phase is still very much ongoing.
Cloud9 also hold a 1–2 record, but their trajectory looks vastly different. After a rough start, they have begun to unlock the immense individual potential of their roster.
In their first match, they were swept 0–2 by an undefeated Leviatán squad. Cloud9 simply couldn't match the tactical depth of the LATAM superteam.In their second match, they lost a heartbreaking 1–2 series to ENVY. Despite the loss, their primary duelist OXY put on an absolute masterclass, dropping exactly 60 kills across the BO3 series and finishing with a massive 1.21 rating.In their third match, they completely dismantled MIBR with a clean 2–0 sweep. Zellsis's mid-rounding was excellent, and the team played with exceptional discipline to secure their first win of the stage.
Current Stage 1 record:
Cloud9 had an active late 2025 off-season, integrating players like v1c and penny to build a robust system around the leadership of Zellsis and the raw aim of OXY. At the VCT 2026: Americas Kickoff, they had a strong opening, notably dismantling LOUD 2-0 in their first match, but eventually fell in the later stages of the tournament. The team has shown they can punch upward when their stars are activated, and their recent sweep of MIBR proves they are shaking off their early-season rust.
The current tournament map pool strictly includes: Bind, Breeze, Fracture, Haven, Lotus, Pearl, and Split.
LOUD traditionally favors Pearl and Bind. While their overall win rate on Bind has been rocky recently, they rely heavily on cauanzin's exceptional utility usage to gather information and stall fast executes.Cloud9 are currently excelling on Lotus, maintaining a positive 56% win rate in recent matches. Their fast-paced, explosive entries orchestrated by OXY make them incredibly dangerous on maps that reward fast, decisive site takes, though they still struggle significantly on Split and Pearl.
Historically, this matchup has shifted in favor of Cloud9 in recent years. While LOUD was the dominant force in the early franchise era, Cloud9's current core has consistently found ways to exploit LOUD's new iterations. Below is the accurate history of their official past matches:
This series looks incredibly tough for the Brazilian squad. LOUD has been struggling with internal role synergy and raw firepower deficits in their recent losses, while Cloud9 is coming off a massive confidence-boosting win. When Cloud9's star duelist OXY is online (as evidenced by his 60-bomb against ENVY), there are very few teams in the region that can stop his momentum, and LOUD's current defensive holds look far too fragile to contain him.
Furthermore, Zellsis has proven he has the tactical read on pANcada's calling, having already swept them at the Kickoff tournament earlier this year. Unless players like Darker and lukxo can replicate their MVP-level performance from the ENVY match to counter Cloud9's individual mechanics, Cloud9 should be able to cleanly repeat their Kickoff success. Cloud9 has the deeper map pool, the better form, and the head-to-head advantage.
Prediction: Cloud9 win (2–0).
Danil Chepil is an expert in the world of esports, having been following the esports scene since 2014. He specializes in Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and VALORANT.
Danil began his acquaintance and collaboration with EgamersWorld in 2022 when, after the Russian aggression, he could no longer continue his career as a bartender.
At that time, he didn't realize that he had a talent for writing news and articles on esports and gaming topics.
At the moment, the majority of bookmakers unanimously see the team Cloud9 as the favorite of the game with average odds on a victory in the sum of 1.67. LOUD chances to prevail are evaluated with average odds 2.135 by bookmakers.
| Last Matches | LOUD | Cloud9 |
| 5 matches (wins) | 0 | 0 |
| 10 matches (wins) | 0 | 0 |
Gamblers will definitely be interested in the statistics of personal meetings between the teams. The competitors have held 1 matches. In these matches LOUD won 1 times, Cloud9 active consisits of 0 wins.
