C9 Zellsis reflects on esports hate, community pressure, and leaving Sentinels

After two years of being with Sentinels, Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro is making a return to his former team, Cloud9. For many fans, his departure was disappointing, but for others, the team’s lack of standout results fueled a wave of negativity directed at him and even his family. During the off-season, C9 announced his comeback, and now Zellsis is ready to prove exactly why he’s the right fit for the roster.

In an interview with esports.gg ahead of the Red Bull Home Ground 2025 tournament, C9 Zellsis opened up about his transition back to the team, the personal and collective improvements he’s working on, his experience with online toxicity, and even shared a thoughtful message for SEN City.

This isn’t Zellsis’ first rodeo with Cloud9. After transitioning from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to VALORANT, Zellsis played for several North American teams, from Orgless5 to Version1 (twice) and Sentinels, before joining Cloud9 in 2022. A year later, he returned to Sentinels, where he spent the next two years. Remarkably, Zellsis might be the only player to return to a former team three separate times.

However, it was with Sentinels that Zellsis reached international glory, winning VALORANT Masters Madrid 2024 over Gen.G. That same month, he also secured his first VCT Americas title. Things took a different turn in 2025, though. After three domestic tournaments where Sentinels placed either second or third, their international performances were less impressive. When the off-season transfer window opened, Zellsis bid farewell to his old team and made his return to Cloud9.

Sofia: How has your transition to Cloud9 been so far? What would you say is the biggest difference between the two teams?

C9 Zellsis: I think the biggest change is that I’m a lot more involved in the early-round and team planning now. Before, I was more of a mid-round player. I’d share ideas when I had them or when the team needed them. Now, I need to be more present from the start. Other than that, it’s mostly the same, but I’ve had to learn to let my teammates take over mid-round calling when it’s not needed from me.

Immi (Ian Harding, C9 head coach) even mentioned that I still tend to think like a mid-rounder. I kind of forgot what it’s like to just focus on the early setup. So now I handle most of the freeze-time calls and step in mid-round when I need to. That’s been the biggest adjustment for me so far.

Sofia: Did you ever want to be the IGL while you were with Sentinels?

C9 Zellsis: I was already doing a lot of talking. A lot of people told me I was basically calling, just without the title. I guess you could say I was training to be an IGL. I don’t want to take anything away from my past IGLs. They all did their jobs well.

But whenever I felt something in the game or had a read, I’d make the call, and my IGLs would let me run with it. I did that with Vanity (Anthony Malaspina) and with John (Amine "johnqt" Ouarid). It worked both ways. If they had a call, they’d make it, and if I was feeling it, I’d take over for that round. It was that kind of dynamic.

In 2024, Zellsis commented on the dual nature of the Sentinels fan base, describing it as both passionate and intense. “The fan base for Sentinels is very loving, but also very toxic. They just want the best for the organization and the players,” he told esports.gg.

The struggles of the 2025 season only fueled the toxicity and even caused Zellsis and his family to receive threats. But how can a player deal with the hate trains?

C9 Zellsis: For me, it’s tough, and kind of counterintuitive in esports, because you usually want to be as public as possible. You want to be seen - that’s how you stay relevant. But with Sentinels being such a huge organization, I felt like I needed a bit of distance. I don’t want to say I wanted to separate myself from Sentinels, because I still love the org and the fanbase. They completely changed my life. I just needed to take a break, a little vacation from all of it.

Hate is always going to exist in esports. It’s just part of the scene. It feels like it’s almost “cool” to hate in this generation, which I don’t really get, but it is what it is. So for me, it was more about stepping back from the Sentinels juggernaut for a bit and getting some space.

Even though the jersey changed colors, Zellsis will always be Zellsis. However, there are some changes that are important to make ahead of the next season.

"I think for me it’s going to be a lot of reps. A lot of trial and error. I’m the kind of player who likes to see how things play out before making changes. I’m not in a rush. I want to test things first, see how they work, and then adjust if needed," Zellsis explained.

"One thing I still need to work on is switching off my mid-round thinking during freeze time. My teammates are very smart and can handle mid-round calls themselves, so I just need to focus on freeze-time planning and reading the game after that. I don’t need to rush anything. A lot of what I’ll be working on in the foreseeable future is finding that balance and letting my team take over when appropriate," he added.

Sofia: How would you describe Cloud9’s team dynamics at the moment, especially after the SEN City tournament? Which areas do you think need the most immediate improvement?

C9 Zellsis: Our pistols are a big issue because I think we lost almost all of them. I believe we only won one pistol round in the entire tournament. On top of that, we often gave up the bonus rounds whenever we lost pistol, which adds up to five rounds we’re just handing to the other team.

Sofia: Cloud9 hasn’t qualified for an international event in a while. Do you think this roster has what it takes to achieve strong results next season?

C9 Zellsis: I can confidently say that this roster will, at a minimum, qualify for events. That’s already a great start. I also believe we have the potential to win tournaments, but at the very least, we’ll be securing spots in the major competitions.

T1 made history on Nov. 9 by defeating KT Rolster at League of Legends Worlds 2025, claiming their sixth world championship. If you didn't know, Zellsis is a big fan of Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, one of the best players in the world. So, we were curious to see how excited Zellsis was to see his GOAT win again.

"The worst part was that the game was really late. I stayed up watching until KT Rolster was up 2-1, and I thought, 'This is over.' I didn’t trust my goat at all. So I fell asleep, and then I woke up to see that T1 had won. After that, I even changed my profile picture on X, and now everyone can see I’m a Faker fan. I’ve met a lot of esports pros in my life, but he’s the only one who actually made me feel nervous," Zellsis added.

Sofia: For you, what has been the hardest lesson you’ve learned this year?

C9 Zellsis: That’s a really good question. I was going to say patience… but then I thought trust. I guess now I’m a bit indecisive, so let’s just go with the patience answer, or time. That might be a good one, too.

Sofia: “Do you want to leave a message for your fans, the people who enjoy watching you play?”

C9 Zellsis: I just want to say to all my fans, to all Sentinels fans, and to every other fan out there: please come support Cloud9. We’re humble kings this year. I love all of you. Please, come cheer us on!

As for the typical Zellsis bundle promotion, don't worry, because he will be the marketing man as soon as the new bundles are released. "When it comes out, I will be," Zellsis stated. "Get your wallets ready!"

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