What does C9 mean in Overwatch?
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It’s a term that’s quite common in the online team-based action game, but a lot of folks are actually wondering, definitively: what does C9 mean in Overwatch and Overwatch 2?
You’ll often see people message this in twitch streams at the end of games, or leave them as comments under youtube videos of doomed matches too. In truth, it’s quite a niche term but has a bit of esports history behind it.
It’s a similar question to those who ask what does MIT mean in Overwatch 2 – and we’ve got an article on that too.
The meaning of C9 in Overwatch
If we’re looking to distill the phrase ‘C9’ and its meaning right down, then it, broadly speaking, means that a player or team simply hasn’t stood on the objective to complete the round, and ends up losing the game (or round) – despite being absolutely free and uninhibited to do so.
So if you’ve ever found yourself, or watched someone else, get into a position where they have a brain malfunction and just don’t stand in the objective for long enough, when it was super easy to do so, and end up losing, – that’s a C9.
Where does the term C9 come from?
‘C9’ refers to the esports Overwatch team Cloud 9, and dates back to 2017. During a match in the Overwatch Apex Season 2 event, Cloud 9 got distracted from the task at hand and just didn’t touch the objective point or area meaning that they lost the round while fighting – and winning – the team fight. As if that wasn’t enough, the team then repeated the very same error a bit later on in another round too! Faces and palms were in alignment.
And there you have it, that’s what C9 means in Overwatch and where it comes from!
If you’re gearing up for the newest season of Overwatch 2 to drop then check out our thoughts on an Overwatch 2 Season 4 release date prediction
