21-year-old Australian Jonah “Isles” Rosario played professionally in the playoffs of League of Legends for Cloud9, which is considered one of the best teams in the USA, in April 2022. However, the playoffs did not go well. Isles was fired in May – now his life in the USA is at risk of collapsing: Without a job, he cannot stay in the country. He has put down roots in the USA, where he has a cat and a girlfriend.
Who is Isles?
- Jonah “Isles” Rosario is an Australian who made a name for himself in the “Oceanic” region as a teenager. He even qualified for the Worlds 2020. Australia is a small region in LoL, but still sends a team to the Worlds.
- At the end of 2020, during the Corona pandemic, Isles made the move to the academy team of one of the best US teams, Cloud9, as a young support talent. Isles also had the opportunity to switch to a weaker team and play directly in the professional league, but he wanted to take his time after another Australian failed to make the jump “directly to the LCS”.
- At Cloud9, he first got a spot on the academy team in 2020 and played there for a year.
In April 2022, the breakthrough came – After 2 years in the USA
This was his breakthrough: At the end of 2021, Cloud9 made a bold fresh start. A new coach wanted to expand the roster: As part of this plan, Isles was brought up from the academy team and allowed to play on the professional team, sharing the spot as a supporter with the South Korean Winsome. The Korean Winsome was in the starting lineup, but Isles was used in training matches, the scrims, and occasionally got a chance to play for real.
His contract was extended until 2024.
Indeed, Isles was there when it mattered. Things were not going well with Winsome in the playoffs; communication with the South Korean proved to be difficult, and Cloud9 gave Isles a chance: In his 5th game as a pro, he played in a playoff match for Cloud9, did well, and secured victory for his team on a big stage. In an interview with Dexerto, he says:
„You can hear the crowd screaming. It’s a rush. It feels great when that happens.”
After giving Isles a chance as a pro, he performed. His coach said about him: With Isles as a supporter, the team would play better in training matches, and communication flowed smoother. On April 8, Cloud9 announced: Isles would now replace Winsome as the starting supporter (via inven).
With Isles instead of Winsome in the lineup, Cloud9 was able to win a playoff series against the Golden Guardians even 3-0. With champions like Leona and Lux, Isles delivered impressive statistics: On April 10, 2022, it seemed as if Isles was finally the new supporter for one of the best teams in the USA.
But the following week, on April 17, they had to face Evil Geniuses, the team that later became champions. Cloud9 was eliminated from the playoffs 0-3, and suddenly everything was different.
Tyler1 does not have such worries as a Twitch streamer; his career is secure:
A month after the breakthrough, the dismissal came
This was the end: As Isles says, he was dismissed in May 2022 without much explanation along with Park “Summit” Woo-tae and the other supporter Kim “Winsome” Dong-keon.
The manager told me basically that C9 wanted to make a change, and that was pretty much it. They didn’t give me any further information – actually just said that they wanted to make a move. I wasn’t really explained why exactly. There was no farewell talk with a coach or anything like that.
Since the dismissal comes after half a season and Isles is now teamless in the midst of the LoL year, he views his chances of finding a new job in the US critically. Isles is upset, having just received the chance to prove himself in the LCS, and believes he can keep up well.
The CEO of Cloud9 does not give him much hope. He stated on Twitter that they had tried to give the 3 players away for free to other teams – but no one wanted Isles or the two South Koreans.
Without a job, Isles’ visa is expiring – the countdown is ticking
This is now Isles’ problem: Without a job in the USA, he cannot stay in the country. He has already put down roots in the USA, has a girlfriend in the USA and a cat named Penny. He is reluctant to ship her halfway across the world to Australia.
On May 14, his visa expires – then he has 30 days left to find a new team, the 21-year-old writes on Twitter. He will look at every offer from every region, he writes. Although he obviously prefers to play for a US team.
As Dexerto writes, he has to vacate his apartment as he can no longer afford it.
Isles seems to be struggling with his situation. He is considering how his career would have gone if he had decided for a starting spot in the LCS instead of spending a year in the academy team.
He is also upset that he only had such a short time to play professionally and to make a name for himself:
I think I should have replaced Winsome after 4 weeks if people had looked more closely at the training matches. I think they were too hesitant to make a decision, and the people with the most power didn’t necessarily have the greatest knowledge of the situation.
Isles
What lies behind it: Isles’ example shows how unstable and difficult life can be as a esports player. Ultimately, a few games and distant forces determine the well-being of the young player. At his age and with such a short career, Isles had no opportunity to build financial reserves to absorb such a setback.
The peak of his life as an athlete and the defeat that led to his dismissal were only 7 days apart. The consequences are huge, and the future prospects seem bleak:
It seems increasingly attractive for teams to keep the next 19-year-old and start “fresh” rather than to recruit someone who has already gained some experience.
A colleague of Isles has gone through a similar fate:
