Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun has stepped down as the head coach of the LPL’s Vici Gaming, returning home to Korea due to “personal reasons,” the organization announced today.
“We understand the father, who does not wish to miss watching his child grow up and we understand the husband, who deeply cares for his wife,” Vici said today on Twitter. “Ultimately, we fully support and respect coach’s decision.”
Kk0ma joined Vici in December 2019 following a seven-year stint with the LCK’s T1, where he won three League of Legends World Championships. With his vast knowledge and coaching experience, kk0ma led Vici up the LPL tables.
In the end, the team placed ninth in the 2020 LPL Spring Split and 11th in the summer. But despite the improvement over the previous year, kk0ma “cared about the overall development of the team more than the results.”
“With his rich coaching experience, he has shared us a lot of insights and has helped this young team in both technical analysis and mentality management, which in turn has helped us cultivate our talents and make rapid progress,” Vici said.
Kk0ma is now a free agent and could join a new team for the upcoming 2021 season. For the time being, he’ll likely step away from coaching for a few months and focus on family life, however.
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