Cover-Credits:
KeSPA and Inven Global
Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun, the head coach of the Korea National League of Legends (LoL) team for the 2022 Asian Games, has reportedly announced his intention to resign from the post.
According to reports by Naver and Inven Global, on 22nd April, kkOma presented to the Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) his intention to resign and that the association was trying to dissuade him.
The association will be having discussions with kkOma over the weekend about his intent. According to the Inven Global article, KeSPA will be delivering kkOma's final decisions to the performance enhancement committee to make the final decision.
What happened at the press conference?
A day earlier, on 21st April, coach kkOma spoke at a press conference arranged by KeSPA upon his request. While addressing the gathering, he reportedly emphasized the irrationality of the schedule that the ten shortlisted players were subjected to. He also answered some of the questions about how he, as a head coach, should have been more vocal about the criticism behind the selection process.
Coach kkOma informed that he had vocally communicated his negative stance regarding the evaluation match and camp training schedule and claimed that he had been opposed to the association's schedule from the beginning.
The Naver article stated that coach kkOma responded to OSEN’s confirmation of the facts. He reportedly said, “At a press conference the day before, I expressed my thoughts on the selection and training process for the national team. After a long time of deliberation, I made up my mind and made the decision to resign.”
Moreover, he apologized for suggesting that League of Legends was more important than Hearthstone. He reportedly said, “I said something that offended my heart, contrary to what I intended. For that, I would like to say that I am very sorry to Hearthstone coach Kim Jung-soo. I want to apologize again to coach Kim Jung-soo, Hearthstone players, Hearthstone officials, and Hearthstone fans.”
On 18th April, KeSPA announced its decision to postpone the League of Legends national team exhibition match that was scheduled for 22nd - 23rd April, stating that the Chinese teams were finding it difficult to enter Korea due to the strong quarantine measures in China. It added that the current domestic COVID-19 situation in Korea was also making it difficult for the foreign teams to extend their stay in Korea ahead of the MSI (Mid Season Invitational).
The association also said that it reflected on the pressure and burden that would be felt by the shortlisted players if the tryouts were done publicly.
On 20th April, the KeSPA informed that the training for the national LoL team was shortened and terminated early. It stated, “As the scheduled evaluation match has been postponed, the schedule has been shortened so that players can focus on managing their condition during the off-season by collecting the opinions of the LoL national team leader.”
It also thanked the players on the shortlist for their intense and focused training despite the training being conducted in an unfamiliar environment for a short time. The KeSPA added, “In addition, regarding the LoL final list selection schedule, as the deadline for submitting the final list of the Korea Sports Council has been delayed, we will provide additional information accordingly.”
The KeSPA has been heavily criticized on social media for being “indecisive and incompetent.” The committee has still not finalized the list of the final six players on the national team’s roster for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
