KkOma steps down as head coach at Vici Gaming, and this is why

Vici Gaming head coach Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun has stepped down from the team due to family reasons. 

KkOma will be traveling home to Korea to spend time with his family as he will soon become a father. KkOma has been the head coach for the LPL team Vici Gaming since December last year after coaching SK Telecom T1 for seven years prior to that. 

Vici Gaming released a statement expressing its full understanding and respect for the decision. Vici Gaming assured fans that the decision was made after friendly negotiations and that KkOma’s professional qualities have been greatly admired by the esports organization.

“We could not go hand in hand further in the following seasons, but we fully understand the importance of family,” Vici said in its statement. “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,” 

KkOma helped SKT T1 win three World Championships before Vici Gaming

KkOma is mostly known for his time with SKT, where he acted as a coach for seven years. During those seven years, he managed to take his team to three World Championship finals. SKT ended up winning the finals in 2015 and 2016, but lost in 2017 to Samsung Galaxy. KkOma also has several domestic titles from the LCK under his belt, as well as two Mid-Season Invitational trophies. 

This makes KkOma the winningest coach in League of Legends, but every venture has an end. In December 2019, KkOma took a big step in his career and moved to China to coach Vici Gaming in LPL.  

He never managed to get the full potential out of the team, placing ninth in spring and 11th in summer. While the results were not impressive, he still managed to lift the team to greater heights compared to its 2019 season. Vici only managed to win four series total throughout last year. 

KkOma is now officially a free agent, but we shouldn’t expect to see him back on a team anytime soon given the reason for his departure.