When The Daily Dot first broke the story that Nicolaj "Incarnati0n" Jensen would be joining the Cloud9 organization, it came at a very interesting time. The player had not yet been cleared by Riot Games to be allowed to participate in professional play, nor had mid laner and team captain Hai "Hai" Lam yet announced his retirement. Because of these factors, the initial report was met with some skepticism, but mostly curiosity by the community. Given Jensen's stated desire to be a pro player again one day, what did this truly mean for Cloud9?

Since then, things have become much clearer. Due to a radical change in behavior, Incarnati0n's lifetime ban from professional LoL has been lifted, as the player has gone from one of the most negative influences on the game to one of the most positive. Hai has officially stepped down from the player roster to join the managerial side of things within the organization. Once the latter occurred, Cloud9 began tryouts to replace Hai, with the two biggest names attempting to secure the position being Jensen, and David "Yusui" Bloomquist, the mid laner for Challenger team Cloud9 Tempest. After a while with no word, today C9 announced that Incarnati0n has been selected as the new mid laner.

There is no doubt that Incarnati0n is an incredibly talented player from a mechanical standpoint, though it's impossible to know for sure how he'll function as part of a team. The team's analyst, Charlie Lipsie, seems confident that this move will benefit the team:

I think that out of the players that we tried out, Jensen had the most raw talent. And I can see him becoming the best mid laner in NA. One of the things I was impressed with was Jensen’s drive to do whatever the team needs to succeed. He also seems to be fearless…He flew around the world to join us and has been willing to dive into anything we ask for.

The one thing that is certain is that Cloud9's playstyle will certainly change. Known more for his in-game knowledge and shot-calling ability rather than mechanical prowess, Hai would often sacrifice gold for himself in order to help his teammate's (particularly AD Carry Sneaky) get ahead. With a much stronger individual player in Incarnati0n, the team has another point of power, but one that will need more resources allocated to him when compared to his predecessor. There will be an adjustment period for Cloud9, both in their overall playstyle, and remaining cohesive as a team without Hai's voice guiding them.

Cloud9 had a record-setting amount of time with an unchanged roster, one that took the NA LCS by storm and immediately gained a huge fan base. It's a bit sad to see a mainstay of the scene like Hai leave, but if Incarnati0n and the team play up to their potential, fans could have a lot to cheer about as C9 attempts to once again become kings of their region.

Source/Image credit: The Daily Dot