

Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin will be starting his coaching career in Cloud9.



On the 14th of May (KST), Cloud9 (C9) officially announced that they've acquired Reignover as a positional coach.



During his pro career, he performed in Korea, EU, and NA. This Korean jungler was known for his creative and aggressive plays in the early game. Most notably, he was recognized as one of the best jungler in EU during his Fnatic-Immortals days. His performance, especially his synergy with his former teammate, Huni was second to none in Europe.



It is told that Reignover was picked up by C9's head coach, Reapered himself and was asked to join the team during their Korean boot camp.



* notes: Thanks to the C9 staff, we had the chance to conduct a short 1 on 1 interview right after our interview with Sneaky-Licorice. The following is the interview with Reignover.



Related: Interview with C9 Sneaky-Licorice

We were surprised to hear from C9 that you’re to be signed as a coach. How have you been recently?

Well, I had some ups and downs during my pro career. When I was on my ‘downs’ I had to go through some of my own struggles. Like Sneaky said during his interview, I also didn’t think that I was to retire from my pro career. However, I did think that I was in a rather difficult situation.



Sometimes I thought, “What if my coaching staff helped me in a certain way when I was struggling?” or “What if they helped me on this matter when I was performing really well?” That's why I was prepared and wasn’t that hesitant about starting my coaching career. And, as a matter of fact, I received a great chance from C9. I’m willing to take my best shot.

I heard that you were scouted directly from Reapered.

I was performing in the US and I was one of the few Koreans that were in the LCS. In fact, before heading to NA I did talk about being a coach a few times. Reapered was a person that cared for me very much. We met in international tournaments and once I moved to the LCS he shared a lot of advice as well. For me, Reapered is someone I can rely on.



When I was taking some time off, Reapered reached out to me. I knew that he was a person that I can rely on and learn. That’s how I decided to become a coach.

Have you ever thought about starting your coaching career in another team?

Not really. Well, I knew that it would work out well since it’s Reapered.

What kind of help do you think you can provide as a coach?

Since I was performing as a jungler, I’m quite sure that I have a broad understanding of my role. I preferred to play with my laners aggressively inside the game and in this matter, I could give help to the players. I’d like to focus on the early to mid game macro.

Then, what would be an advice you’d like to share with the C9 junglers?

After joining the team, I recognized that the C9 junglers are so good at the game. (laughs) They were way better than my expectations. I won’t have a lot to say about their individual mechanics. That’s why I’m more focusing on enhancing teamwork with their laners.

Do you think you’ll become a strict coach?

I’ve never met a strict coach during my pro career. To clarify, I’ve never met a coach that has stronger opinions than his players. If I experience and get to know more about coaching, I think I’ll be able to set a clear path on how to express my opinions as a coach.

Are you considering to make your comeback as a player someday?

In the past, there were some coaches that made their comeback as a player. And, my coaching career might not work out as planned. Since I won’t be striving to hit rank 1 to prove my capabilities, it will be more difficult to focus on playing games. I have a new role now and I’m willing to give my utmost to learn.

You will make your debut as a coach this LCS Summer. Do you have any words for the fans as a ‘coach’?

Recently, C9 couldn’t win the LCS trophy. However, they are still one of the best performing teams. When I was a player, C9 was a team that was so difficult to take down and that was when I thought, “Why are they not winning the LCS?” As a coach, I’d like to observe and learn more about things that need improvement inside the team. My goal is to lead my team to the LCS trophy. Moreover, I want C9 to advance further at Worlds. I know that qualifying in the semis is a notable achievement but I’d like to see some more. Well, my priority, for now, is to win the Summer Split.