Cloud9 forced to drop LoL's General Sniper after 2 hours due to age restrictions

Yesterday, Cloud9 announced they had signed 13-year old General Sniper as a streamer, only to release him two hours later due to age restrictions.

Turns out the minimum age to join any team is 15 (even as a streamer) so my contract was terminated, very sad news☹️ I'll be back stronger than ever next year :)

— General Sniper (@GeneralSniperr) November 3, 2020

The bizarre turn of events came as a result of unclear wording in the legalities of what constitutes a “pro player” versus a “streamer,” at least according to Cloud9’s CEO, Jack Etienne.

Cloud9 had understood that due to the very different obligations of the two roles that the signing was above board, but were later told the rules were intended to “bar hiring of any person below the age of 15.”

The rules we received were specific about not contracting the services of anyone under 15 as a pro player, which we didn't do. We were informed after our announcement that what the rules intended are to bar hiring of any person below the age of 15 for any reason.

— Jack Etienne (@JackEtienne) November 4, 2020

General Sniper, the brother of current Dignitas top laner Omran “V1per” Shoura, rose to fame due to his impressive solo-queue stats as a Challenger Riven main (much like his brother), and then winning a recent Twitch Rivals tournament with Tyler1. And all at 13.

(Picture: Cloud9)

General Sniper’s stats and high profile advocates in the likes of Tyler1 have highlighted the 13-year old’s incredible skills at a young age, and raised a significant amount of awareness for his potential. It is no surprise that Cloud9 looked to find a way to be involved with the rising talent.

• Read more: Leagues' Tyler1 joins T1 

Unfortunately, such deals and signings will have to wait just over a year. Shoura turns 15 on the 10th November 2021, after which his nullified deal with Cloud9 can be reinstated - or perhaps his prodigious talents will see him leverage his worth into even bigger deals elsewhere.

Until then, General Sniper will have to remain an unaffiliated streamer, albeit one with an ever-growing interest from fans and organisations alike. You can catch him live on his Twitch channel, or his other content on YouTube.