Cloud9 is set to bench VALORANT head coach Ian “Immi” Harding and promote assistant coach Veer to the top role, according to a report from Sheep Esports.
Cloud9 hasn’t announced anything yet. Until it does, treat this as reported and not official.
A few important details are still missing. It isn’t clear whether Immi is being removed from active duties while staying under contract or leaving the organization entirely. It’s also unknown whether Veer’s promotion is permanent or an interim job for the rest of the season, and no effective date has been given.
The change is reportedly coming near the end of the season, with Cloud9’s remaining route running through play-ins. That leaves very little room for a new head coach to rebuild systems, veto prep, roles, or practice habits before the games that actually matter.
Promoting from inside softens that problem. Veer already knows the players, the playbook, and the review process, so there is no onboarding period. The trade-off is obvious too: an assistant who helped build the current system may not tear it up overnight.
Why Immi was under pressure
Immi has been one of the few constants at Cloud9 through a long run of roster changes. He arrived in VALORANT with a solid reputation, built mostly at Version1, who reached Masters Reykjavík in 2021 and finished in the upper half of that field.
At Cloud9, the tactical praise never really went away. What didn’t arrive was international qualification. The team attended VCT LOCK//IN in 2023, but that event invited every partnered team. Since then, Cloud9 has repeatedly failed to convert decent stretches of VCT Americas form into a Masters or Champions berth.
This season has been especially rough by the org’s own standards, which is where the pressure came from.
The coaching report also lands during a busy period on the player side. Xeppaa has moved out of the active setup, while Jackk and Notexxd have been introduced to the lineup, with Zellsis remaining a central figure through the turnover. Cloud9 hasn’t linked any of those moves to the coaching decision.
Fan reaction has been broadly in favor of the change, with plenty calling it overdue. There is far less agreement on the fix. Some wanted the entire coaching staff replaced rather than a straight internal step-up, and others see the remaining matches as a straightforward audition for Veer ahead of a bigger 2027 rebuild.
