State of the League

Given the relatively brief lifespan as well as the myriad events available, it's pretty rare for an esports professional to jump from one game to a completely different game. However, today we learned just that: storied Starcraft: Brood War professional YellOw/Storm has un-retired from the world of esports and is entering the realm of League of Legends. In conjunction with KyuHoon Hwang and Xenics Ltd., JinHo "YellOw/Storm" Hong will be the coach for new Korean team Xenics Storm.

"After a while of retirement from pro gaming career, I finally found a place to nest. I am currently focusing on <LoL> and starting a new challenge as a coach,” said Hong. “Thanks to a lot of fellows, Xenics Storm was able to launch. I deeply appreciate Xenics for sponsoring us and KyuHoon Hwang the chief of oGs for supporting us."

Xenics Storm entered OnGameNet's "The Champion's Spring" league last Friday. Given the dedication to esports the Korean community has, it's likely we'll see more of YellOw/Storm at future <i>League of Legends</i> events.

It will be interesting to see the development of this team. Few professional League of Legends teams have coaches or managers that aren't players themselves (Goose/mTw and Absolute Legends come immediately to mind), and even fewer have professionals from outside the League of Legends arena working with them at all. Do enough elements from one game translate to the other when you're at the professional level for this to be considered significant? Does having a coach (or manager) provide enough advantage to justify the additional person (and thus personality) on the roster? Will YellOw/Storm's fame prove a boon or a distraction for Xenics Storm?

Time will tell, I guess. Though Time could stand to hurry up and answer.

[Source: ThisIsGame]