APA and Zven Out After Worlds 2026: Why Cloud9 Locked Down Vulcan Through 2029
Following a painful Play-In exit at Worlds 2026 with consecutive losses to Karmine Corp (2-3) and Brazil's FURIA (1-3), North American powerhouse Cloud9 is moving fast to reshape its League of Legends division. Just days after officially parting ways with Eain "APA" Stearns and Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen, an update to the official Riot Games Global Contract Database confirmed a major long-term commitment: Canadian support Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme has signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him with the organization through November 15, 2029.
A Milestone Extension Through Age 30 for Cloud9's Support
Previously signed through November 2027, Vulcan has added two full seasons to his current agreement in Los Angeles. In a professional League of Legends ecosystem where player contracts rarely exceed two years, a deal running to the end of the decade stands out as one of the longest active commitments in Western esports.
Born in April 1999, the Quebec native will turn 30 during the final year of his new contract. Should he fulfill the agreement in its entirety, Vulcan will have spent roughly eight cumulative seasons wearing Cloud9's sky-blue jersey across two separate stints. First acquired ahead of the 2020 season, he captured two LCS titles (Spring 2020 and Spring 2021) before spells with Evil Geniuses (winning LCS Spring 2022) and FlyQuest, eventually returning to Cloud9 at the end of 2023 ahead of the 2024 campaign.
APA and Zven Officially Move On After the Seven-Man Roster Experiment
Vulcan's extension arrives right as Cloud9's split with APA and Zven formally closes the book on the organization's mid-season roster gamble. Brought together as starters at the beginning of 2026, the American midlaner (signed from Team Liquid in late 2025) and the veteran Danish botlaner (who returned to C9 in late 2024) helped propel the squad to the LCS Lock-In finals and a strong Spring Split regular season.
However, back-to-back playoff defeats in the spring cost Cloud9 qualification for both First Stand and the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), prompting the coaching staff to overhaul the starting lineup. Shifted to the bench for the entirety of the summer under a seven-man roster setup, APA and Zven were replaced in the starting five by South Korean midlaner Lee "Loki" Sang-min and AD carry Edward "Tactical" Ra.
Neither APA nor Zven logged a single stage game during the Summer Split, watching from the sidelines as Cloud9 clinched North America's third seed only to become the first team eliminated in the Play-In stage prior to the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage Round 1 draw. Both veterans are now free to pursue new opportunities for the 2027 season, with APA already drawing strong interest from teams across both the LCS and the LEC.
Cloud9 League of Legends Roster Contract Status (2026-2029)
With Vulcan's extension registered in Riot Games' official database, Cloud9 boasts multi-year contract stability across every starting role. Here is the complete breakdown of the roster's contractual status heading into the offseason:
| Player | Role | Contract Status (Riot GCD) | 2027 Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu | Top Laner | Signed through November 2028 | Returning starter (LCK import) |
| Robert "Blaber" Huang | Jungler | Signed through November 2028 | Franchise cornerstone (with C9 since 2018) |
| Lee "Loki" Sang-min | Mid Laner | Signed through November 2027 | Summer Split and Worlds 2026 starter |
| Edward "Tactical" Ra | AD Carry | Signed through November 2028 | Summer Split and Worlds 2026 starter |
| Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme | Support | Extended through November 15, 2029 | Long-term support anchor |
| Eain "APA" Stearns | Mid Laner | Departure confirmed (October 2026) | Free to explore 2027 options |
| Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen | AD Carry | Departure confirmed (October 2026) | Free to explore 2027 options |
By having Blaber, Tactical, and Thanatos locked in through 2028 alongside Vulcan through 2029, Cloud9 secures an all-resident North American core across jungle, bot lane, and support. That domestic foundation gives the front office complete flexibility to either run back its summer lineup or adjust its carry positions without running into import slot restrictions.
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My Take: Locking Down the Blaber-Vulcan Duo Is Cloud9's Smartest Offseason Move
I completely understand why Cloud9 moved quickly to lock down Vulcan through 2029 despite a bruising Play-In exit at Worlds. In North America, domestic supports who can reliably handle primary engage duties and mid-game shotcalling at an international level are virtually impossible to replace.
By securing the veteran Blaber-Vulcan engine through the end of the decade alongside Thanatos in the top lane, Cloud9 avoids the import-slot juggling act that derails so many LCS rosters every winter. The seven-man experiment with APA and Zven on the bench wasted valuable summer synergy, but Cloud9's long-term core remains in a much stronger spot than a nineteenth-place finish at Worlds might suggest.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
