Fans of Counter Logic Gaming got some good news during a tumultuous offseason yesterday.
The team has promoted Tony “Zikzlol” Gray to head coach, moving the man who handled strategic coaching duties for the team during their League Championship Series championship run to an even more prominent role.
“I look forward to Tony being our head coach,” Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black, the team’s support player, said. “I’m confident in his ability from learning under him during his time as our strategic coach. He’s smart, a hard worker, and earned the respect of everyone here.”
Gray began working for Counter Logic as an analyst in 2013 and he’s since moved his way up the ranks, becoming an in-house analyst in 2014 before taking over on-stage coaching duties last year. The team was impressed by his work ethic and ability to work with the players and staff over the years.
I’m grateful that @clgaming has given me this opportunity to be Head Coach. I won’t let you guys down. #CLGFIGHTING
— Tony Gray (@Zikzlol) November 11, 2015
The new head coach will have a tough task ahead of him as he seeks to defend their status as LCS champions without their star player Peter “DoubleLift” Peng, who was recently removed from the team and transferred to Team SoloMid. The team is currently trying out former Team SoloMid AD carry Jason “WildTurtle” Tran for the spot.
Counter Logic will seek an assistant coach to work alongside Gray in the upcoming season.
Last year, the team introduced a new look coaching staff featuring Chris “Blurred Limes” Ehrenreich, a coach with experience in sports and not necessarily esports, at the helm, looking to adopt a more regimented approach to esports training. While it seemingly produced results, Ehrenreich was let go for undisclosed reasons in the offseason, leaving an opening for Gray to assume the position.
After what can only be described as a tempestuous offseason, it’s nice to see some stability in Counter Logic Gaming.
