Cloud9 sign es3tag⁠ in 3-year contract worth R35m

While we still don't know what will happen to the South African ex-Cloud9 players  Johnny “JT” Theodosiou and Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek, as well as coach Tiaan “T.c” Coertzen, Cloud9 have in the past week revealed new players for their Colossus CS:GO roster.

The latest addition sees Cloud9 sign Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen as the fifth player, in what Astralis calls “one of the biggest transfers on record”.

es3tag to Cloud9 with R35m contract

Astralis announced their 24-year-old player, Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen, would be heading to Cloud9 after DreamHack Fall Open completes. Exactly what the transfer costs is unclear. Astralis and Cloud9 have agreed to not disclose the financial terms of the transfer.

However, we do know the three-year player contract worth for es3tag, as HenryG revealed the following details on Twitter:

• Patrick “es3tag” Hansen
• Role: Entry / Aggressive Rifle
• Contract length: 3-year deal (from 10/25/2020)
• Value: $2,100,000

At the current Dollar to rand exchange rate, the player contract would be worth more than R35m.

HenryG announced es3tag's contract with some flair, stating: “The Colossus plucks the brightest star from the Danish night sky to complete a line-up with true astronomical power shooting star”.

The Cloud9 Colossus squad:

• Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin;
• William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman;
• Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker;
• Ricky "⁠floppy⁠" Kemery;
• Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen; and
• Aleksandar "⁠kassad⁠" Trifunović (coach).

Anders Hørsholt, the CEO of Astralis Group, explains: “This is not something we saw coming when we signed Patrick only four months ago, but player transfers will always be a part of the game. We will not be commenting on any specifics around this agreement, but I do believe it is one of the biggest transfers on record and the conditions offered to Patrick are also of a kind he wanted to pursue.

“We have an obligation towards our own business and towards the player and as such we are pleased to have finalised this agreement with Cloud9.

“As a player and as a professional, Patrick will be missed by everybody here, and I hope one day, he will yet again be a part of Astralis. We wish him the best of luck!”

es3tag helped Astralis win the ESL Pro League Season 12: Europe tournament in style, with a huge comeback against Na'Vi.

This article was brought to you by Esports Central.