In surprising news, the Hangzhou Spark have announced that both Head Coach Hwang “paJion” Ji-sub and Assistant Coach Kim “nOrU” Jae-dong will step down from their positions as of today. This announcement comes off of a shaky start to the 2021 Overwatch League season. The team currently holds a 0-2 record with only a total of two maps won. The organization also announced that Assistant Coach Hwang “Andante” Jaehong will take over Head Coaching duties. Alongside that, Bilibili Gaming Head Coach Kim “Mentalist” Chung-in will join the team as an Assistant Coach.
nOrU joined the Spark exactly one month to the date of his release. Formerly a coach of Runaway and Gen.G in Contenders Korea, nOrU was one of three assistants working on paJion’s coaching staff.
Sparking of which, paJion was brought onto the team as an Assistant Coach about a month after the Vancouver Titans roster controversy that saw the release of virtually every member of the team. After the release of former Spark Head Coach Lee “Mask” Muho, the team immediately promoted the former Titans Head Coach to the forefront of the coaching staff. This paJion-led Spark team would produce mediocre results. The one highlight during this stint being a second-place finish during the 2020 Countdown Cup tournament.
According to league insider, Arran “Halo” Spake, the Spark had high expectations for paJion since his start as the team’s Head Coach.
Alongside this tweet, reports of high latency issues at Hangzhou’s facility plagued a lot of what seemed to be a new chapter for the team. The team did address the situation publicly however. This ping situation alongside a few questionable coaching decisions this last weekend may have led to today’s falling out.
The Spark continue their season under new management against the Shanghai Dragons on Friday, April 30 at 8:00 am EST.
Follow Jordy on Twitter: @JRDNGRCA for everything Hangzhou Spark and OWL-related!
Featured Image Courtesy of The Overwatch League.
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