One of the most notable figures in the competitive Call of Duty scene is stepping down from his role with the Los Angeles Thieves.
JKap will not be coaching the L.A. Thieves in 2025, he announced today on social media. The CoD esports legend had been coaching the CDL franchise since December 2020 after he retired from competing in September of the same year.
“Covered it all in the video, but I won’t be returning to LAT next year,” JKap said. “I decided to move back to the east coast and because of it, we agreed to mutually part ways.”
The 30-year-old has been a staple in the competitive CoD community for nearly 15 years. He captured numerous titles during his playing days, but most notably won back-to-back World Championships in 2015 and 2016. As a coach, he added more titles and a third World Championship to his résumé in 2022.
This year, L.A. Thieves’ best placing came at CoD Champs 2024, where they earned a fourth-place finish. This came after the organization entered a rebuild heading into the 2024 CDL season where its entire Champs-winning roster of Kenny, Octane, Drazah, and Envoy left—and after the org said it “lost $2.5 million” on its Call of Duty program in 2022.
While JKap is moving on from L.A. Thieves, it doesn’t sound like he’s necessarily done coaching in the Call of Duty League. The CoD veteran said he’s “looking for remote opportunities coaching or in the broader gaming landscape for next year.”
It’s unclear at this time if he’ll remain as a coach of the team for the upcoming Esports World Cup from Aug. 15 to 18, or if his final event with the organization was CoD Champs 2024.
