After spending the 2020 Spring Split on the LEC analyst desk, Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi has reportedly made history by joining Sandbox Gaming for the upcoming Summer Split, becoming the LCK’s first Western head coach in the process, according to ESPN.
The 24-year old coach will be working remotely from Europe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea has seen plenty of developments with the virus’ spread, but things still haven’t improved enough for Yamato to work with the team in Korea.
In joining @SBGaming_KOR, @YamatoMebdi becomes the first Western head coach in the LCK. https://t.co/RkEaceVVcz
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) May 14, 2020
Yamato is most known for his work with Team Vitality, in which he helped lead the roster battle through one of the hardest groups of the 2018 World Championship—the team barely missed out on getting through the group stage, after managing to win against powerhouses like Gen.G and Royal Never Give Up.
His famous speech to all European teams helped spark a fire within Europe at the tournament, and for the first time in a long time, an LEC team reached the World Finals. Now, Europe has become one of the most powerful regions in the world. While it could be said that not his team reached the peak at the World Championship, he was a catalyst to the entire region. Even in wars in past there were drummers and people who would motivate their armies. A good speech can definitely motivate people enough to make outstanding feats.
Sandbox Gaming will be heading into the 2020 LCK Summer Split with pretty low expectations—the team ended the previous split in ninth place, with an abysmal 5-13 record. Luckily, they were able to keep their spot in the league after taking down Seorabeol Gaming in the 2020 LCK Promotional Tournament.
It was closer than expected considering Sandbox Gaming has one of the best top laners in the League. Going forward, they should look to play around Summit, who has shown that he can solo carry games and allow him to explore other champions outside of Ornn, Aatrox which have been prioritized this season.
LCK is looking as strong as ever with top teams upgrading their rosters. Sandbox Gaming while they did indeed acquire a new head coach, has not changed their roster. Outside of Summit, the rest of team is quite mediocre and itțs quite unsure whether they’ll be able to withstand the power of DragonX, T1, Gen.G and others.
LCK will return in mid-June with the new rosters so stay tuned for more information if any changes are happening.
