Milo W. February 9, 2019
The LCS is losing one of its top broadcasting talents.
Popular League of Legends commentator and former pro player Josh “Jatt” Leesman has announced he is departing the esports scene to become a game designer at Riot Games.
The prominent League personality revealed that he would be leaving LCS shoutcasting during a recent episode of the League of Legends esports podcast, “The Dive.” Jatt described how he had originally joined Riot Games in 2012 hoping that it would propel him towards his ultimate goal of becoming a game designer. Instead he was offered the opportunity to serve as a color commentator for the LCS due to his prior experience as pro player.
Jatt is now moving on to fulfill his dream as he joins the League of Legends balance team to help design the game he has analyzed from the shoutcasters’ table for more than seven years.
“I’m super excited to do it and also super sad to no longer be full-time on esports,” Jatt said.
Jatt has been involved in League’s esports scene since season one, when he joined team Rock Solid in 2011 as jungler. The roster included himself as well as other rookies who would later become recognizable figures in the League community: Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani, William “Scarra” Lee, and Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana.
Most of Rock Solid was ultimately absorbed into Team Dignitas, but Jatt had a different path to follow. The season one veteran retired from pro play and briefly joined the Riot design team as a quality assurance analyst.
Eventually the opportunity arose to become a shoutcaster for the LCS and Jatt seized the opportunity. Since then, Jatt has become a staple of the NA LCS as well as League of Legends esports culture, frequently appearing on The Dive podcast and the “This or That” webshow.
The community’s reactions to Jatt’s departure was comprised of bittersweet farewells, messages of gratitude for his contributions, and wishes of good luck in his future endeavors.
Some members of the community including LCK commentator Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith say that League esports won’t be the same without him.
“Jatt was the first color caster in League of Legends and a huge loss to the ecosystem,” PapaSmithy said.