Cherry Team (cherryteam in-game, also known as CherryBT, [cherry] and Cherry) is a Russian creating team with many experienced layout creators, decorators and GFX artists. They are best known for their Extreme Demon projects, such as Void Wave, Cannon Bay, cytokinesis, Mayhem and the Top 10 levels KOCMOC and Firework, the latter of which briefly became the hardest Demon in the game. The team was founded and led by Vernam, the co-founder of TSC, a gameplay-creating team with which they are often associated. They are also infamously known for creating Shinigami, another Extreme Demon set to be the hardest Demon in the game but was ultimately scrapped and restarted from scratch.[1]
History[]
On 2 June 2021, Vernam revealed on his YouTube channel that Cherry Team had disbanded in a video showcasing the team's full history.
Four months later, on 29 October 2021, Vernam announced on his Twitter that Cherry Team was being revived.[2]
On 3 April 2022, Vernam announced on his YouTube Community Tab that he would be leaving Cherry Team again due to 'misunderstandings with the participants, conflicts, and due to a lack of motivation' but would continue to host collaborations outside the team. He said, 'It turned out to be both more interesting and more profitable to make informative content than to waste my time on a bunch of lazy people.' This statement meant that Vernam viewed the team members as lazy. He gave temporary leadership to Viola. Leadership was later handed over to Highjump and Sauzzeth.
On 28 May 2023, Vernam became the team's leader again during an unknown time. It was questioned why the team members voted to let Vernam return, especially after making hateful and rude comments about them, but they declined to answer. It has been speculated that Vernam may have threatened the team members and forcefully regained leadership. However, almost immediately after he regained ownership of the team, he demoted every admin sometime after he announced being transgender for the second time.[3] Due to this, many people, especially the admins, viewed Vernam disreputable who should not have been able to return to the team. Vernam reacted to the hatred and anger he was receiving, saying that what he did was for the best and should not be blamed for anything.
Because of everything mentioned above, Vernam has developed a poor reputation within the community. Some users even attempted to remove him from ownership of Cherry Team, but these efforts were unsuccessful.
Controversy[]
Transphobia controversy[]
- Vernam, who initially owned the team, left after uploading a video with transphobic content, which led to significant backlash from the community and his removal from several collaborations. Leadership was transferred to Highjump, but Vernam eventually resumed control after returning.
- Shortly after his return, Vernam released a video saying he had reclaimed Shinigami from Highjump, criticizing the creators involved as inadequate. He also announced plans to remove some Cherry Team staff members, keeping only those he considered agreeable. These actions prompted several members, including Woomy, to leave Cherry Team.
Vernam vs Kurumi[]
- On 30 December 2020, after Kurumi achieved 68% on his buffed version of Firework (the level that fully dethroned Tartarus on 4 November 2021), Kurumi received mass attention from the Russian Geometry Dash community before he was hassled by its community and Cherry Team due to hacking accusations; both Bytema and Eiriley created an exposing video of Kurumi due to said allegations.
- Kurumi later became aggressive at Vernam and refused to speak to him; his popularity grew. Vernam stated that Kurumi was harassing him, the Firework creators, and Cherry Team on his streams while absent.
- Afterwards, Vernam went into a fit of rage due to Kurumi's toxicity towards him and the slower progression on Firework after the 68% run; on Discord, he mistreated Kurumi, including fat-shaming him, and also made threats involving Vernam to kick Kurumi out of verification if he did not 'go to the gym'.
- Due to this instance, Kurumi learned the English Geometry Dash community about Vernam's behaviour via the YouTube community tab, causing the majority of its community to criticise and allege Vernam of intoxicating Kurumi and inform his Russian Geometry Dash community to accuse Kurumi; after this, Kurumi became highly overwhelmed in Firework due to its received comments from his community craving him to verify the level whenever he posts videos that were unrelated to Firework.
- Due to the drama and instances that surrounded him, he dropped Firework and quit Geometry Dash entirely; this was mainly due to his questions of whether the community cared more about his mental health than Firework, his community's overwhelming comments, and the mistreatment from Vernam.
- Vernam later remarked in 2022 that he felt guilty about all this and that he 'just had all this crap built up in me from all the days of his rudeness, constant ghosting and insults' throughout the incident.
LGBT situation[]
- In late March 2021, Vernam uploaded a video stating that LGBT people were no longer allowed to join Cherry Team. He also made a video stating that child groomers such as Crazen, Akira Kurisu and GuitarHeroStyles were all LGBT and also questioned where he should beat up transgender people (citation needed).
Acheron copy situation[]
- In September 2021, the player Just a GD player gained access to a copy of the level Acheron, most likely with permission from the hosts. After gaining access, he gave the copy to Exen, who uploaded a video of Acheron without permission from the hosts. Then, Exen gave the copy to Vernam, who threatened to leak the level to the public. Ryamu, the host of the level, panicked and uploaded Acheron to the servers to prevent the leak. After this, JAGDP apologized and deleted his copy of Acheron, but the damage had already been done. After this, something happened between him and Vernam, and Vernam threatened to seriously hurt him.
Gunpoint prank[]
- In September 2021, Vernam disputed with Just a GD player regarding level leaks. Knowing where JAGDP lived, Vernam went to his house with a rifle to scare him. JAGDP uploaded tweets desperately seeking help because Vernam was outside his house with a weapon. Vernam later uploaded a video claiming the incident was merely a 'prank'.
Sauzzeth's arrest[]
- In July 2023, sauzzeth, the host of cytokinesis, was arrested with charges of minor hooliganism by entering an abandoned building he knew was already owned by someone. He paid the fine but had to stay in jail for 15 more days.
Members[]
Note: This section is currently inaccurate.
Owner[]
- Vernam
Members[]
- Albee
- Aquarware
- Arshadow
- AssBreaker
- Azhir
- Ballistic
- Bleamer
- bli
- Cdpre
- Cuaer7
- CuLuC
- curxe
- cynixX
- Deadlox
- Dola
- Drewch
- ElMatoSWAG
- EricVanWilderman
- Exen
- Florigon
- Galliard
- Gooros
- ImMaxX1
- Inex
- Itami
- JuzGiew
- Kaylan
- kivvvi
- Konsi
- Light
- LolsShow
- LordVadercraft
- Mitiran
- Mzero
- Nekadoff
- Nekon
- Nidro
- ORte
- Sauzzeth
- Seattle
- Synd
- Vinty
- Viola
- Voltex
- Xatz
- Yoonsr
Former members[]
- ARtu
- btLisp
- Buragoz
- BySelling
- Crazen
- † Crouley
- CTRX
- Cursed
- DMSD
- EnZore
- galofuf
- Hyp3rlink
- Jamscone
- Lilium
- Lolwut
- n3moprod
- Nahuel2998
- Trick
- Vadi
- Vit12
- Xolarzz
Not members but participated in team activities[]
- 1nvise
- Ani (Eiriley)
- bop
- CastriX
- classic10
- Convie
- Dusk
- Endevvor
- Nexus
- qmystic
- spkgmd
- Viprin
- Vitchrose
Levels[]
Unrated levels[]
- Cannon Bay (also known as Crimson Clutter Infinity) - An Extreme Demon remake of Crimson Clutter using modern Nine Circles effects. It is a four-person collaboration between Lilium, Enely, Illenium Art and ORte. It was originally verified by Terakot on 26 October 2021 and published on f3lixsram's account. A buffdate was verified by LordVadercraft on 4 September 2022 after 24,982 attempts and published on his account.
- DNX Old 1st part - The old version of the first part of Dash N Xplodes.
- Fear Not
- shinigami is easy - The infamous wave section of the old version of Shinigami.
- Test Your Luck
- Xyiti
- Sinister Glow - A reddish-purple Nine-Circles Insane-Extreme Demon.
Demon levels[]
Easy Demon levels[]
- Cherry Blossom (featured) - A modern flower-themed level made in 20 hours.
Medium Demon levels[]
- UPSCOPE (Epic)
Hard Demon levels[]
- Binary Life (Epic) - A level with a green-colour scheme themed after the binary numbering scheme. It was hosted by sauzzeth and verified by Viprin.
- Frostbite Meadow (featured) - Cherry Team's final collaboration of 2022, with a wintery, Christmas-themed aesthetic and many Christmas-related decorations. The level was uploaded without a verification, likely expecting members of the community to attempt the verification themselves; as a result, the level remained unrated for several months and took a while to get sent by moderators, but was finally rated on 19 September 2023.
- Neur Absence (Epic)
Insane Demon levels[]
- Crash Game (Epic)
- Dash N Xplodes (featured) - Cherry Team's first collaboration. It was verified by Ishigiru.[4]
- Penumbra (Epic) - Originally a layout by Dusk, ORTE, IBK and Tsuzuito with the NONG song Iwillneverletyougo by AXIUS LINK. It is currently being hosted by Vernam, and the decorators are as follows (by order): Konsi, KseNon, Vit12, Sauz, Nidro, JuzGiew, ImMaxX1 with voltex and harent. qMystic, curxe and Wintter used to be in the collaboration but had parts deemed to not fit the theme.
- Toxic Rave (featured)
Extreme Demon levels[]
- Belladonna (starred) - A simple-themed collaboration between Vernam and Itami. It was verified by exsii on 26 September 2023. It was placed #50 on the Demonlist.
- cytokinesis (Epic) - An alien complex-themed level hosted by sauzzeth. The level was verified by Dorami on 25 August 2023.
- Firework (starred, on Trick's account) - A level that was set to be the hardest in the game. The verification went through both Dolphy (twice) and Crazen before ultimately being dropped by both players. The level was then set to be rebalanced and verified by GMDomy, who dropped the level some days later. After this, it was again set to be verified by Dolphy, who got to 15% in less than a week. However, he dropped the level for the third and final time. Around December, it was passed to Kurumi, who got a personal best of 68% but quit Geometry Dash after being ousted from the verification due to his suspected hacking and from Cherry Team morally objecting to his obesity and harmful lifestyle. Trick took the verification after two other verifiers, Sid125 and Doli, dropped it quickly after Kurumi. After going through seven verifiers, Trick verified the level after 234,000 attempts and over a year of playing it on 29 October 2021 and published it on his account.
- KOCMOC (Epic) - A Russian word meaning 'space' or 'cosmos' in English. It is a Slaughterhouse-inspired level that used to be near-impossible but has been nerfed and balanced to Top 10-difficulty. It was verified by Trick on 12 March 2023. Due to criticism from top players, it was updated with notable changes, which are numerous bug-fixes and kivvvi's part replacing Konsi's due to poor optimization (it contained about ~40% of the level's objects). This version was verified by Zoink on 13 May 2023. Despite this version being the bug-fixed and optimised version, many top players argue that this update, unfortunately, ruined the level rather than improving it for the better.
- La Llorona (Epic) - The sequel to Thanatophobia, hosted by qMystic and verified by Nexus. The level was formerly hosted by ARtu until he, upon quitting the game, gave hosting permissions to qMystic, who also got Cherry Team to help. It is based on an old North Latin American and Southern American urban legend of the La Llorona, or the 'Crying Woman'. A woman's children drown in a river alongside her because her husband cheated on her. It might be why Nexus was selected as the verifier, as he is Mexican and lives in a part of Northern Latin America. The song, made by the same artist as the song of Thanatophobia, 'The Experiment', is also based on the urban legend.
- Mayhem (featured, on LordVadercraft's account) - A construction-themed level and the official sequel to Caution, created by Just a GD player. After going through six verifiers (one of whom has their name spelt incorrectly in the level's end-screen, Victurkey), It was verified by LordVadercraft on 7 August 2022 after 87,344 attempts. It was initially placed #10 on the Demonlist. The level is set to receive an update, which will update the decoration, rebalance its difficulty and optimize the level.
- Shinigami (Epic) - A mega-collaboration initially made to be the hardest level but was eventually scrapped and entirely remade due to a bug. The new version features a Chinese-centred theme despite Shinigami being a Japanese word. It was initially set to be a Top 5-15-difficulty Extreme Demon. There was originally a plan to revive old Shinigami into a separate level called AceKF, but this idea has been scrapped. After being nerfed to Top 150 difficulty, Shinigami was verified by Dorami on 9 August 2023.
- Trotil (starred) - A glass-themed level hosted by Ani (also known as GMD ORUZHIE or Eiriley). The level comprises decoration made entirely by Ani's subscribers, many of whom had their first experiences with decoration in this collaboration. The level was showcased by Exen on 9 January 2023 and uploaded as a Top 15 Extreme Demon with an open verification on the account 'hacke5553022211'. However, it remained stagnant until Russian player ItzTayfun picked up the level, bug-fixed, balanced and nerfed it. The level was finally verified on 17 September 2023 and star-rated on 28 September 2023.
- Vignette (featured, on Crouley's account) - A retro cinema-themed easy Extreme Demon with a sepia colour scheme. It was verified by retrograade on 13 June 2021 and published on Vernam's account, H4RDMACHINE. It was later moved to TheShadowRealm's account because of bad behaviour on Vernam's part and moved again to Crouley's account in memoriam because Crouley passed away.
- Void Wave (Epic) - An XXL level well-known for its click-sync and purple colour scheme. It was verified by Crazen. Due to Cherry Team's wishes to morally clear the level from Crazen's misbehaviour in the community, an update to the decoration and gameplay was re-verified by Dorami.
- Waterfall (Legendary) - The former sequel/antagonist to Firework. It was verified by LordVadercraft and is easier than its prequel.
Upcoming levels[]
- A.G.I.T.E - A former Top 1 click-sync Extreme Demon layout created by Vernam and Enely. The name stands for 'Amelia Groobs is the Empress', in which Amelia Groobs is Vernam's current or former girlfriend or wife, and is projected to be themed over the medieval ages after Preview #1 of the decorated level was posted on Konsi's channel. However, it is unknown if the level is still being decorated, as no official parts have been uploaded by their creators, and no second preview has been revealed since mid-September 2022.
- Back On Track - A decorated version of the layout Bec On Track by TSC. The current state of the level is unknown as numerous parts were lost after a data loss.
- Gryphon - A layout collaboration by Defentel, Vernam, Catakill, Tellurium and Drewch. It is not known if this will be decorated.
- KOCMOC UNLEASHED - A remake of the old unnerfed version of KOCMOC, set to be verified by Arshadow.
- Ouroboros - A hell-themed Top 1 Extreme Demon hosted by qmystic and set to be verified by Denni. It is Cherry Team's first finished 2.2 project and is aimed to be the first Top 1 made during the update. The level has received mixed reception from players, praised by some and criticised by others for having decoration being 'empty', 'unfinished' and 'lacking detail'.
- Peach Vomit - A 2.2 Top 1 Extreme Demon containing lots of weird images. The level is set to be verified by TheBigCheese69, an unpopular South African/Canadian Geometry Dash player who achieved a world record of 4.06% on the original impossible level.
- Sarai - A Russian word meaning 'barn' in English. Initially, it was a joke challenge by Vernam before being turned into an official level, set to be the hardest level in the game.
- Tidal Wave Infinity — A Tidal Wave remake.
- Nekravol - a DOOM Eternal styled level.
Nominations and awards[]
Received 3 nominations and 2 awards in the The Geometry Dash Awards
Nominations[]
- Nominated in the 2023 Awards for Best Hard Demon with Neur Absence
- Nominated in the 2023 Awards for Best Extreme Demon with KOCMOC
- Nominated in the 2023 Awards for Best Extreme Demon with cytokinesis
Awards[]
- Awarded in the 2023 Awards for Best Insane Demon with Crash Game
- Awarded in the 2024 Awards for Best Extreme Classic with Waterfall
Gallery[]
Cherry Team's old profile picture in 2020.
Videos[]
Mayhem VERIFIED! + Full Detail Showcase - Top 5?
The verification of Mayhem. Credits to LordVadercraft.