Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera has reached a verbal agreement to join Cloud9 as an in-person Strategic Coach for the 2026 LCS season, according to a report from Sheep Esports. The move would pull one of League‘s most-watched co-streamers off the broadcast and into the team facility full-time.
The role is specifically Strategic Coach, not Head Coach. That means Rivera would focus on opponent scouting, draft planning, meta analysis across regions, and preparing game plans with the coaching staff. These positions typically handle the research and strategy homework while the head coach manages the team and makes final calls.
Rivera is no stranger to competitive League. He played professionally as a jungler for teams like Dignitas, Curse, and Team Liquid before retiring. Since then, he’s built a massive following covering LCS, LPL, and international events with detailed analysis and hot takes.
The interesting part: Rivera already worked with Cloud9 this year, but remotely. According to discussions around the report, he handled scouting duties from home. The move to an in-person position suggests Cloud9 was happy enough with his work to bring him on-site.
That shift comes with real costs. Working full-time with an LCS team means relocating to the Los Angeles area, where most teams operate. It also means his co-streaming career takes a massive hit. Team staff can’t co-stream competitor matches due to conflict of interest rules, and the workload during splits makes regular streaming nearly impossible anyway.
Rivera has talked publicly about the limits of remote coaching work. Being in the building means real-time scrim feedback, direct draft prep with players, and immediate adjustments between games.
From stream to strategy room
The report also mentions Team Liquid showed interest in Rivera before he agreed to the Cloud9 deal. That tracks with his reputation for draft analysis—viewers watching his streams often note his pick-ban breakdowns are accurate more often than not.
Nothing is official yet. Verbal agreements can fall through, and neither Cloud9 nor Rivera has made a public statement. The esports offseason is full of reported deals that never materialize. But Sheep Esports has a track record of breaking roster news before official announcements, so there’s weight behind the report.
