Cloud9 Head Coach Nick “Inero” Smith walks into the Riot Games arena, donning a suit and tie. He walks through the hallways decorated by various League champions and VALORANT agents, greeting each and very single employee before making his way to the Cloud9 practice room. He runs through the game plan with the rest of his team as they walk onto the LCS stage one by one as he heads to the backroom, keeping notes on ways he can help the team improve.

For some, being able to call video games your profession is a dream that many will never even think to experience. For Inero, this has been his routine for the past 10 years. Yet, despite his relaxed demeanor, reaching this level of tenureship has not been without its share of battles, all with a growing sense of self-discovery and patience.

What Drives Inero?

A teenage Inero walks through the high school hallways crowded with students representing their future college. Graduation posters surround the hallways as he goes through the finishing touches of going to classes, simultaneously trying to figure out “what’s next”. 

For one brief moment, that plan was to join the military.

“I was fully planning on joining the military,” Inero said. “I had an appointment for the United States Naval Academy. I was in the finishing phases of that, wrapping up, but then backed out of it, which I felt bad about.”

Like many in their late teens and early 20s, discovering your true passions doesn’t come easily. For some, it can take years to truly understand what makes somebody experience a sense of purpose. For Inero, a lot of his early years were spent trying to figure out what that passion was exactly.

“I was doing every entry-level job. I was working at a Food Expo at a bar. I did some side accounting work with my stepmom. Worked at a grocery store. Did work at a high ropes obstacle course too,” Inero shared. “I was just doing whatever to make money and pay for my spot. I just went from one mess to another.” 

Yet, despite all of his struggles throughout this time in his life, he always maintained a level of confidence that no matter what, he could “grind out of it” and figure something out.

“It was really big on me to always take risks and do things to see where I end up,” Inero said. “Worst case, I’ll be broke as s*** somewhere, and I’ll figure it all out. I’ll find a job. I’ll work at McDonalds or something. I’ll find a way to live and chill, but I’ll do some stuff that’s fun so I can look back and say that I didn’t regret it.”

Stumbling into League of Legends

While balancing his daily tasks, Inero found pockets to indulge in League of Legends, where his passion for the game quickly grew. Simultaneously, ideas of seeing more of what life had to offer began to surface. Around that time, he received an offer from German esports organization Mousesports as he packed up his things and moved to Europe.

He began his journey in Northern Ireland before moving to Germany in his bid to help Mousesports qualify to the Tier-1 levels of Europe, all while on a travel visa.

“It was all really stupid in hindsight,” Inero said. “Like, it was really obvious that this is something that could be a terrible setup, but I kinda just wanted to travel and do stuff while I was young.”

His tenure with Mousesports was marked by constant struggles to balance survival with building a team that could promote to the highest tiers of League of Legends, all while sleeping on a floor mattress in an office building in Germany. Yet, through all of these challenges, Inero was able to transform his team into one of the best in the Challengers league. While he stood just one game shy of auto-qualifying for the EU LCS 2016 season, his coaching work was recognized.

“I got an offer to work with Splyce, the team that had promoted into the EU LCS in 2016,” Inero said. “I was going to be their Head Coach and go to the LEC, but I turned it down because I didn’t feel like I was ready. Still, it was really nice getting that recognition. That’s when it clicked that this is something that could actually work out full-time.”

Things really started to take shape when Inero got his first opportunity to coach in the LCS with Echo Fox at the start of the LCS 2017 Summer Split. However, this is also the period of his career when he realized there was so much he had to learn.

“When I got to Echo Fox, I realized I still had a whole lot to learn as a coach,” Inero said. “But I felt I was learning a lot from the people that are there, and I usually pick up things pretty well, and I’ve always been good at working with people and handling conversations to bring things together.”

Throughout his career, Inero has experienced glimpses of what greatness feels like, only for it all to come crashing down. He specifically began to remember his nearly six-year tenure with Golden Guardians and how things fell apart immediately after experiencing his highest moments as a coach.

“There were a bunch of things with Golden Guardians where it felt like we were finally getting there, and then one day I found out my team was gone,” Inero said. “We were just gone from the league, and it was really demotivating.”

Troubling Times in the LCS

10 years feels like an age in the esports industry due to the evolving nature of how quickly things move. One day, professionals could be on top of the world before it all comes crashing down like an avalanche the first moment it sees the sun.

For Inero, there have been numerous peaks of greatness, only to be met by uncomfortable low points in his career.

Still, it is these mistakes and troubling moments that have made him the person he is today.

“The biggest life lesson for me is being okay with making mistakes,” Inero said. “It’s okay to fail at something because it’s gonna happen, but something might surprise you along the way.”

These mistakes and hard times make it difficult for many people to bounce back. At times, it can feel difficult to navigate tough moments and move forward the same way as when things were good. 

However, the main thing Inero always saw as important throughout his career was not letting these moments “destroy you”.

“Sometimes you will try something and it will be really bad, but you can’t let it kill your drive or your motivation,” Inero said. “It will destroy you if you do that and you will get too scared, that’s the main thing that has stuck with me.”

This philosophy for his esports career is something that he hopes readers can carry over into their own lives.

“That all extends to life because you never know what can happen in life,” Inero said. “I could drive home today and get in a car wreck. Maybe it’s not my fault, and it really sucks that I can’t do anything, but it could happen, and you have to just be happy and accept that. Sometimes you just have to find what you can around you and just go next. Don’t let it kill your enjoyment in life or your motivation to put one foot in front of the other.”

After a long journey through multiple esports organizations and countries, Inero has found a home with Cloud9. Still, despite this being a “really good spot” compared to previous moments in his career, he knows that it can go away at any moment. The only thing he is focusing on is making sure the team is great in the present moment.

“Being on Cloud9 is definitely a really good spot compared to where I have been in the past for sure,” Inero said. “Still, I don’t like to look too far ahead, even when we are winning games, because you can lose at any moment. I’m just going to do my best for where I’m at. If it works, it works. And if it doesn’t, I’m always going to learn from it.”

After taking down FlyQuest in the LCS Lock-In Playoffs, Inero and Cloud9 have secured their spot in the top three as they look to move forward into their next match against Sentinels. It will be interesting to see whether Cloud9 can secure a spot in the Grand Final following their fantastic run of form to start the season.

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Featured image credit: Sage Datuin

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