Cloud9 HCS signed jersey story gets a happy ending

For those following the Halo esports scene, it should come as no surprise that Cloud9 are absolutely dominating the Halo Championship Series. They had overwhelming success back in December 2021 at HCS Raleigh, but behind the scenes, there was another story developing.

The Cloud9 team took a one-of-a-kind signed jersey to the HCS Raleigh event, but before they could give it away as a prize to one lucky fan, it was stolen. The exact details are unknown about when it happened or who stole the jersey, but Portilho from the C9 Marketing and Social team took to Twitter to give more information.

Just a couple of weeks after HCS Raleigh, Portilho confirmed that the Jersey had appeared on eBay, a popular sales website, for a small amount of $100. The low price came as a shock, but what was even more surprising was the account had no shame in selling the item.

The eBay listing was from an account named gregorydan1964. Surprisingly, this seems to be a full name and birth year, which if accurate, could give away the identity of the thief. The title of the listing was a 'CLOUD9 esports inaugural Halo Infinite championship team Signed Jersey 2021!'.

The description gives more details of the item, without mentioning the fact it was stolen. '2021 Halo infinite champions CLOUD9 esports signed Jersey by all team members, size large - signed just before the final round at Inaugural HCS Kickoff at the Raleigh convention center with a grey sharpie ( players badge and sharpie used to sign Jersey included!')

Another detail people in the C9 community have pointed out is that the player badge that was sold with the jersey was in fact incorrect, as the C9 players had 'pro player' on their badges, rather than just a regular 'player' badge seen in the auction. Additional information can be found on the actual auction page.

Naturally, a one-of-a-kind item was going to get snapped up, and fast. The item sold for its minimum amount, with just a single bid. C9 and the community were worried that this stolen item was forever lost to the hands of a collector, but luckily, a far happier ending took place.

A Twitter account called Always Tilted confirmed that they were the winner of the auction, and had bought it with the hopes of sending it back to C9. They were even kind enough to post a picture on Twitter as proof of their purchase.

As thanks for returning such a historic and one-of-a-kind item, Cloud9 has offered Always Tilted a signed jersey and other cool merch for "being a good person". What started off as a story about mistrust quickly changed and proved that when the gaming community and eSports community comes together, they always win.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Halo Infinite news and updates.