Attributes of an eSports Coach
A coach has the ability to profoundly impact a team's or athlete's performance. A coach can assist athletes to reach their full potential by providing expertise, guidance, and motivation. Furthermore, coaches can assist teams to work closely together to achieve a common goal. The role of a coach has expanded in recent years to include mental games and strategy. With the rapid rise of eSports, it should come as no surprise that coaches are in high demand in the competitive gaming world. With that in mind, let's take a look at Top 10 Casinos eSports coaches for 2024.
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Christine Chi (Potter)
Since the beginning of 2021, Christine "Potter" Chi has been a member of the Evil Geniuses Valorant team. Potter was initially a player before becoming head coach. Evil Geniuses Valorant team performed admirably in the top four of the open qualifiers for the VCT 2022 NA Stage 1 and 2 Challengers under her leadership. On top of that, they defeated Team Heretics in the opening round of the inaugural 2023 international LAN event held at LOCK//IN São Paulo.
This team under Potter defeated LOUD, the winner of Valorous Champions 2022 and the VCT 2023 Americas champion, demonstrating that their victory wasn't a one-shot deal. They then went on to defeat Team Liquid, the 2023 VCT EMEA winner. Notably, EG's ascent in Valorant, demonstrates that Potter's shift from a professional player to two first-person shooters has undoubtedly been successful. Not all professional athletes become excellent coaches, and not all excellent coaches are former athletes.
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Jordan Graham (Gunba)
Graham has a great deal of experience playing competitive esports, mostly Rocket League. In fact, he is the creator and president of the Ohio University Rocket League. This league presently has about 150 participants. As a player, he participated in several tournaments, including the Overwatch Pacific Championship and Overwatch World Cup.
When he transitioned to coaching, he carried Florida Mayhem to success in the 2023 Overwatch League. The transition of Jordan "Gunba" Graham from player to coach is a prime example of his commitment to and proficiency in the competitive gaming world. His influence is felt both inside and outside of the virtual combat zone.
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Remy Quoniam (XTQZZZ)
Based on 35 maps, Remy has a map win rate of 71%, which is impressive. Born in 1988, XTQZZZ has been a prolific esports player from 2009 up to 2014 when he became a coach. In October 2023, XTQZZZ returned to lead Team Vitality. He had been the coach of the said team from 2018 to 2021 when he joined G2 Esports.
It would be an understatement to say that since XTQZZZ last coached Vitality, things have changed. Vitality became Major champions after he left and most of the players during his reign left the team. Also, there's a fresh game to think about. Although there are many parallels between CS:GO and CS:2, Remy had more work to do. And did that scare him? Definitely not. In fact, he carried the team twice to victory in 2023 in offline CS:2 tournaments.
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Danny Sorensen (Zonic)
With multiple Danish teams, Zonic has had enormous success and earned over $110,000 in prize money. He is arguably the best Danish Counter-Strike player of all time. Danny was a founding member of one of the most successful Counter-Strike teams in history, mTw.dk. He left the game in July 2015 to become a coach for Team Dignitas when teams began switching to Global Offensive. Later, he resumed playing with mTw.dk.
Following his unsatisfactory comeback as a player, he became a coach for Team Questionmark. Along with the other players, he created Astralis in January 2016. He has been instrumental in the team's growth into one of the best in Global Offensive.
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Yoon Sung-Young (Homme)
Born in 1985, Homme lives and breathes esports. At the age of 15, he won a Starcraft tournament. In 2013, he was the LCK champion, and a year later, he was a world champion as a sub. As a coach, Homme cleaves to his grand plan when they disagree on concepts and viewpoints. He lets players pick the champions they desire if their choices are in line with his beliefs. According to the coach, he doesn't fix things as long as they win, but if they lose, he might have to make some changes.
When coaching JDG, Homme seems to use the same strategies against most of their rivals. They have received recognition for their flawless teamwork during engages and disengages. After all, JDG has long been known for their ability to start slowly, but consistently manage to overcome their rivals.
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Chet Singh (Chet)
Chet Singh is one of the most well-known coaches for the NRG Valorant. As a coach, Chet was a vital member of the NRG Valorous group. He became a member of NRG on October 5, 2020, and participated in the team's inception as it entered the Valorous esports arena. Chet played a pivotal role in the establishment of NRG Valorant, as indicated by the company's Twitter account.
Notably, he got his coaching chops mostly from coaching top NA teams like Evil Geniuses, OpTic Gaming, 100 Thieves, and NRG Esports. He mostly led them in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports scene, which had a great deal of success.
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Alecks
Go around and ask any member of the Paper Rex team about their beliefs. Whether they be coaches, players, or staff, you'll quickly learn that they believe in unity. Coach Alexandre "alecks" Sallé of PRX has been a part of the esports organization from its founding and has nothing but praise for their corporate culture. Alecks has played a major role in their success, which is mostly due to his strong leadership and ideals.
According to Alecks, his team doesn't enter tournaments to win. Rather, they set goals during practice, when they experiment with different tactics on how to play a map. Meanwhile, they enhance their teamwork and communication. Paper Rex's flat organizational structure has caused him to gradually alter his coaching approach over time. This came about following several rounds of peer and self-evaluation, during which he also got input from his managers and players.
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Dimitar Staev (Itopata)
In the world of esports coaching, Dimitar Staev is a highly mentioned name. Itopata gained a lot of attention with his work at Apeks, when he was hired as head coach in 2023. During his time with the team, he led Apeks to incredible victories in Challengers Polaris Split 1 and Split 2. With Ascension, the team achieved a respectable second-place result.
They almost missed out on a ticket in the coveted 2024 EMEA League. In November 2020, Itopata took Wave Esports under his wings. The Bulgarian expert enabled the team to win VCT 2021: Europe Stage 1 Challengers 1, in just one and a half seasons. Itopata's final competition as a Wave Esports coach was VRL 2022 DACH: Evolution Stage 1. Here, the squad took second place and earned $4,954.
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Alex Kie (Goked)
Prior to joining KOI at the end of the year, Goked served as the coach of the Spanish organization Case Esports. This was from mid-2021 until late 2022. Goked played one of his most prominent roles to date on Leviathan. He served as BARBARR's assistant coach at KOI, where he honed his skills and expanded his knowledge of the game. But it was his previous role as Case Esports' first head coach that truly showcased his abilities.
Under his direction, Case Esports prospered and rose to the top of the Spanish gaming scene. Their journey culminates in a magnificent third-place finish at the end of the Regional Leagues. This alone proves Kie's ability to build teams into formidable competitors. Being the head coach of Leviathan at the highest level of competition is an interesting challenge and an opportunity to advance. This is despite his earlier triumphs.
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Kim Min-Soo (Glow)
Glow is a South Korean esports coach born in 1988. He has a lengthy history in the esports scene, going all the way back to the CS1.6 era. This coach was a member of MVP PK and a former professional player of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. He ended his career as a professional player on May 17, 2021, and on June 13 of the same year, he became a coach.
Remarkably, he won every competition the Korean team in VALORANT got involved in. The only exception was the finals of the VCT Stage 2 Masters qualifier. Here, they lost to NUTURN and finished third.
Do They Justify Their Reputation?
In eSports, coaches take on a team-centric position. Their primary goal is to ensure the victory of their players through:
- Bringing the most business value to an organization
- Ensuring players give 100% through mentality focus training
- Analysing the most recent meta to come up with the best strategies to increase their team strength
- Ensuring smooth communication among players and teamwork
The top 2024 esports coaches identify and work on their players' weaknesses through scrims or scrimmages. Scrims are just practice matches with teams of similar ability so that players can try out new tactics and prepare as though they were in a tournament but without the pressure of losing. There is usually no betting on who will win or lose in these contests.
The Importance of eSports Coaches
In 2024, esports coaches will play a more significant role than before in influencing the tactics, routines, and mental toughness of their players. The top 10 eSports coaches profiled in this article, who range from seasoned professionals to up-and-coming talents, represent the highest calibre in the field.
As supporters of electronic sports, these are the coaches to keep a close watch on. They're successfully negotiating the dynamic world of competitive gaming. More importantly, they continue to serve as role models for the upcoming generation of winners.
