MLBB Women's Invitational 2024: Cloud9, the stars of North America

Can Cloud9's diverse roster give it the edge over their international competition in MWI 2024?

The women's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports scene is set to take the spotlight in the upcoming MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) 2024 in late July. As part of the Esports World Cup, 12 of the best women's MLBB teams from all across the world will be battling it out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the right to claim the title of strongest in the world as well as the grand prize of $180,000 out of a $500,000 prize pool.
Cloud9 Female (C9) will be among the 12 championship hopefuls in this year’s MWI as the representatives of the United States, one of the rising regions in the scene.

The stars of North America

C9 is one of the more intriguing teams in this year's MWI, featuring a diverse roster of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds under the banner of one of the most renown esports organisations in the world.

The roster that would go on to represent the C9 women's MLBB division previously played as ‘Reignfall’ and earned their place in MWI 2024 through the tournament's North American qualifier back in May. But with only four teams playing, those aspiring squads had to compete for a ticket to Riyadh by going through a double-elimination Playoff bracket without having a Group Stage to get their bearings first.

Even so, Reignfall had a strong start by sweeping Masked Foxes, 2-0, in the upper bracket semifinals. They then faced Area77 Angels in the upper bracket finals, with Reignfall emerging victorious in a 2-1 series to become the first team in the grand finals. Reignfall faced Area77 Angels once again in the grand finals after the latter swept War Angels, 2-0, in the lower bracket finals.

With a spot in MWI up for grabs, a hungry Reignfall squad won the first two games of the grand finals to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. While Area77 Angels showed signs of life by winning game three, Reignfall could not be denied as they eventually claimed the 3-1 series victory and the opportunity to represent North America on the big stage at MWI 2024.

Reignfall's performance in the North American qualifier caught the eye of C9, one of the biggest organisations in North America that was looking to break into the MLBB scene. As part of that effort, C9 signed Reignfall to their women's MLBB division alongside BloodThirstyKings for their men's MLBB division in June.

While most expect the Southeast Asian teams in MWI to be the top contenders, C9 have the potential to cause some upsets and be the tournament's dark horse team.

Rising to the challenge

As befitting a team from North America, C9 has a diverse roster featuring experienced players and rookies alike of varying ethnicities and backgrounds.

Filipino EXP laner Jey Rose “Jewel” Morales Enriquez, Chinese gold laner Cindy “CxZ Panda” Zhou, South Korean roamer Ashley “Ashlay” Ann, and American jungler Nicole “Nicholette” Huang have the most competitive experience within the team. They have played in the North American Challenger Tournament series and the North American Squad Leagues before, notably competing alongside men.

Meanwhile, MWI 2024 will be the first real tournament that Thai mid laner Natchaya “Stella” Peetathawatchai and American substitute player Emily Tramanh “XZYA” Tran will be playing in. It's a trial by fire, to be sure, but one that their more experienced teammates should be able to help them deal with.

Supporting the team from the sidelines will be Filipino coach Robert Neil “Midnight” De Guzman, who had previously worked as a caster and is currently also coaching the C9 men's MLBB division.

While North American MLBB team does have its own distinct identity by now, incorporating metagame ideas and strategies from other regions may help the region get to the next level – and C9 are in a good position to do just that in this year's MWI.

But strategising is only half the battle, and the decisive factor for whatever results C9 will be aiming for will still be gameplay. And in that regard, the team is looking to Nicholette to be their anchor and playmaker.

Fans of the North American MLBB scene should be familiar with Nicholette, who has been making waves in the region after being recruited to play in the NACT as part of the main BloodThirstyKings roster that would go on to become the C9 men's MLBB division.

While Nicholette performed admirably throughout the NACT, she was shockingly benched for another player in the grand finals. Even after BloodThirstyKings claimed the championship, their decision to bench Nicholette suddenly caused quite an uproar as her fans felt like her chance to play on a big stage was unfairly taken away.

But now Nicholette has another chance to prove herself worthy of playing on an even bigger stage than the NACT in this year's MWI.

C9 will be starting the MWI 2024 Group Stage in Group A, arguably the hardest group of the tournament as it also includes Cambodia's CFU Serendipity and Indonesia’s Falcons VEGA. It will be an uphill battle to get to the Playoffs, but getting over this hurdle should give the team momentum to make a deep run – if not go all the way.

North America has been eager to prove itself worthy to stand among the likes of the Philippines and Indonesia as the top regions in MLBB for a couple of years now. That same hunger will be in C9 in this year's MWI. Just how far their determination will take them remains to be seen.

Cloud9 Female roster: