IWDominate to Become Cloud9's In-Person Strategic Coach for the LCS 2026

13 Oct

Martin Arévalo-Östberg

After a disappointing year in the LTA (the first and only of its kind), Cloud9 is ready to turn the page ahead of the North American league returning to the LCS brand for the 2026 season. According to a report by LCS Eevee, Cloud9 is set to bring Christian "IWDominate" Rivera back to the studio as the team's Strategic Coach.

IWDominate Comes Home

For those of you who haven't been around for that long, IWDominate used to be a household name in the LCS, competing in the league since 2014, only a year after the creation of the NA LCS. Since then, he has spent the next several years under different teams, whether as a player, a coach, or a content creator.

With a wealth of experience under his belt, IWDominate was brought into Cloud9 early into the 2025 season, spending most of the year as a remote coach for the team. Now, C9 appear ready to bring back IWDominate as a Strategic Coach for the start of the 2026 LCS season. This time, though, he will be there in person, maximizing his ability to help out the team.

While IWDominate has spent the last few years as a successful streamer and content creator, this move will no doubt take him in a different direction. Having spent years competing on the LCS stage, though, this may feel like a return home for the former player, no matter how much the league may have changed since his retirement in 2016.

Cloud9 in Need of a Jumpstart

For an organization as historic as Cloud9, the 2025 season was nothing short of a disaster. Not only has the team failed to lift a trophy since 2023, but their shock loss to 100 Thieves at the 2025 LTA North Split 3 Playoffs meant that Cloud9 would miss Worlds for the second year running for the first time in the organization's history.

Now, after the announcement of Nicholas "Inero" Smith as new Head Coach, the addition of IWDominate's presence is expected to give Cloud9 the boost they need to turn the ship around.

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Featured image credit: Cloud9

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