Erik “penny” Penny and Cloud9 had a rocky start to the VCT Americas 2026 Kickoff campaign after being demolished by reigning world champions NRG. We spoke with penny about the team, Chamber in the current meta, reuniting with Zellsis, and more.

Further bad news came for the team as star Duelist Francis “OXY” Hoang had to take time off due to a personal tragedy. However, the addition of Max “Demon1” Mazanov saw Cloud9 return to winning ways against Demon1’s former team, Leviatán.

Q) What are your takes on the double Duelist meta that’s pretty popular right now? Could you also comment more on why Cloud9 are one of the few teams that don’t really run double Duelists on most maps?

penny: I think it is very strong right now, but it is very reliant on the fragging ability. If you don’t opt for double Duelist, you can obviously rely more on utility. I think Chamber is also in the boat of the double Duelist meta. He is very oppressive, and people are scared to play against it, especially if you put someone like Demon1 or me on it. I think both approaches to double Duelist are strong, but we just opted for the Chamber more recently.

Q) What are your thoughts on Chamber being back in the meta?

penny: Part of the reason why he is back in the meta is because of the initiator nerfs as it makes it harder to get him off his line. Even if you do manage to get him off his line, you don’t have that utility to hit the site because it takes so long to come back. That’s definitely one of the strongest parts about him.

Q) You had a very interesting 2025 where you spent quite some time in EMEA with Team Liquid and Apeks. Did you learn a new approach to the game or a different playstyle? 

penny: I would say the biggest thing I learnt in EMEA is the team dynamic over there. Obviously, it is much different since people are from different countries, have different cultures, and speak different languages. I wouldn’t say I learnt too much in terms of VALORANT but more so in aspects of life where I learnt to interact and be friends with people from different cultures who have different mannerisms compared to where I am from. I think it was really helpful and I’m glad I went to EMEA even though it didn’t go so well in Apeks. I met a lot of great people and learnt a lot about myself. 

Q) Would you consider 2025 to be one of the most important years in your VALORANT career as you were playing in tier-two before your return to the tier-one scene with Liquid and then Apeks?

penny: Yeah. I was grateful for the Liquid opportunity. I knew going to the Apeks project would be tough, but I felt it would be more beneficial to go there and take the risk to see if I could give good performances. Obviously, everyone knew that it would be tough to get a lot of wins there but maybe one or two wins would have been nice, which we were in a position to do so but it didn’t end up going our way. However, it was my goal to give my best, take the risk, and make it one of the best years to get back into tier-one like you said.

Q) I talked to FURIA’s koalanoob about his time as a Duelist in Natus Vincere. He mentioned Duelists in EMEA are much more individualistic and tend to get away with a lot of crazy hero plays due to their mechanics. Do you agree with this or have a different take?

penny: At least from what I have noticed, the Duelists in EMEA didn’t seem impactful. There aren’t many Duelists I can recall, except one or two like Kaajak and Derke, as they performed pretty well every week. The other Duelists were inconsistent, as the team expects them to just go in and be selfless. However, it was a lot different than that in my experience. That’s what I saw from the other Duelists, and there weren’t many statistically good Duelists in EMEA compared to NA, where most of the stats leaders are probably Duelists. In EMEA, I only feel like one or two were high up there, and the rest were either Controllers or Initiators. 

Q) You are back in VCT Americas and it’s somewhat of a mini Version1 reunion with Zellsis and immi. How has it been working with them again?

penny: I am grateful to be here. I don’t want to say I’m lucky because I worked hard for it but it’s lucky to be in a team with familiar faces and on the higher end of the echelon of teams in Americas because most teams in their first year don’t get that lucky to be a top team but I am back in a top team in my first year back in VCT Americas. I am grateful for that and it’s been great so far. 

Q) A lot of people expect G2 Esports, MIBR, and NRG to be the top dogs of VCT Americas this year. However, it feels like an open playing field for the rest of the teams. Do you think this Cloud9 roster has what it takes to finally make an international event and potentially clinch the spot of the very best outside of the big three?

penny: I think the only teams we really respect are the top dogs right now. Based on playstyle, those are G2 and NRG. Obviously, MIBR is very skilled, but I think they are limited by the Agents they play and stuff like this. I feel like they have a bit of role problems considering the current meta, so that’s why I am not putting them up there, but they have five insane players. I consider Cloud9 as right up there as the top four. 

Q) Are you somewhat surprised that MIBR are not running double Duelist with aspas and zekken?

penny: I think it would make more sense right now for them to do that but zekken’s very skilled and can do whatever. However, he might take some time to get into that form. They won their game and it looked really good but he really didn’t have to do anything which kind of says a lot about how skilled they are.

Q) Do you have any closing thoughts to share with the fans of Cloud9 and you?

penny: I appreciate everyone for the support. Obviously, with our current situation, I appreciate everyone’s support for OXY as it means a lot to him, but it also means a lot to us as we are seeing that. It’s a horrible circumstance, and we are all with him and love him. It’s nice to see the fans and everyone else are with him, too.