Cover-Credits:
KeSPA and Inven Global
The Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) has confirmed that Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun has retracted his intention to step down and that he will remain the head coach for the Korean League of Legends (LoL) team for the 2022 Asian Games. On 27th April, the KeSPA released a statement addressing some of the controversies that have been plaguing the national team and the selection process. On 22nd April, coach kkOma had announced his intention to resign from the post and the association was trying to dissuade him.
At a press conference on 21st April, kkOma reportedly 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.
KeSPA discusses the process of the LoL subcommittee
KeSPA has successfully managed to persuade kkOma to stay as the head coach. The statement by the KeSPA (translated) said, “The reason why the association requested to reconsider the resignation of coach Kim Jeong-gyun is that the coach goes beyond his duties and responsibilities as the national team leader and becomes the target of various criticisms and baseless misunderstandings in advance and responds in a timely manner by preventing them from being misunderstood.” It added that it appreciates kkOma's will and that it firmly believes that he is the right person for the national team coach post.
Additionally, KeSPA explained in detail the process of the LoL subcommittee and its roles and responsibilities. It said, “The LoL national team evaluation and training plan was conducted according to the schedule established by the association before the supervisor and subcommittee were formed, and there was insufficient consideration of the opinions of the supervisor and subcommittee members in the process.” It clarified that the subcommittee was not involved in managing the players or the schedule. The KeSPA further expressed its regrets for not being able to respond more flexibly to the schedule, despite kkOma’s strong concerns about the camp training.
The association also spoke about its future plans for the selection of the national teams for the 2022 Asian Games. Firstly, the final list of the League of Legends national team shall be decided at the beginning of May through discussion between the LoL subcommittee and the coach.
The six national players will be selected based on their data from the regional league and international competitions in the last four years, along with the latest skill data for the 2022 season, and data from the call-up training period. These parameters were used when selecting the existing preliminary list as well.
“The LoL subcommittee list will also be released along with the national team final list,” the association added.
The KeSPA stated that the controversies and concerns stemmed from a lack of communication with the coach, the sub-committees, esports teams, and officials since this is the first time esports has been adopted as an official event at the Asian Games. It promised to do its best moving forward and to deliver the best to ensure that the teams spread joy and pride to the country.
