Counter Logic Gaming’s minor league affiliate is bringing in a new skipper. According to a recent press release announced on CLG’s website, the CLG Academy team has added Matthew “xSojin” Perez as the team’s new head coach.
xSojin joins the LoL Academy with no prior coaching experience at the pro level. CLG, however, does not see this as a drawback. Instead, the organization views the young coaching prospect as someone with the raw talent and skills to make it at the elite level, without the added baggage. “We wanted to bring in someone who had not been working with professional teams,” said Matthew “Trinitiii” Nausha, CLG’s Director of Esports. “Historically teams recycle the same coaches. We believed there was someone better that currently was not coaching a professional team. Mat has had a lot of success at the collegiate level. He has good systems around strategy and communication that will assist our players’ development.”
“I believe that my players should be all ready to take each other’s ideas and feedback into consideration, even if we don’t believe it to be true,” said xSojin. “Doing so allows for us to understand each other’s points of view, which leads to a healthier team environment and faster improvement.”
– Mathew “xSojin” Perez
Perez is known for leading the Maryville Esports Club into becoming the first U.S. based team to win the college championship. The team took home the trophy with a Best-of-5 finals win over the University of Toronto back in May 2017. Throughout the tournament, Maryville scored key victories over two-time finalists, Robert Morris, and two-time defending champions, UBC. As a result, Maryville became the first varsity esports program to take home the College championship.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity that CLG has given me and I’m ready for what’s to come. I’m already enjoying my time with the Academy boys and been welcomed whole heartily by them, so I’m hoping that the fans will welcome me to the organization with open arms as well!”
– Mathew “xSojin” Perez
There isn’t much of a precedence to determine whether success at the college level will translate to the pros; Perez is obviously the first coach to make the transition. Consequently, the result of CLG Academy’s leap of faith could determine whether teams explore this avenue in the future. This development is one that all avid esports fans should keep an eye on. Of course, nobody will be more ecstatic than CLG Academy if it all works out.
The rookie coach joins a roster that includes FallenBandit, Wiggily, Tuesday, Auto and Fill in the primary player positions. The team concluded the inaugural NA Academy split with a 5th place finish, falling just short of a playoff seed. The upcoming Summer Split will be xSojin’s first appearance with the team. The Summer Split begins on June 14.
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