Former Supa Hot Crew head coach Nick “LS” De Cesare has joined North American Challenger team Roar. For De Cesare, who will coach the team remotely from his residence in Korea, the appointment marks his first formal venture into North America.
The team will also be picking up Jose “KaizenMaster” Rodrigues as assistant coach. Rodrigues was a former mentor to De Cesare.
Roar first appeared on the League of Legends scene by recruiting former Team SoloMid AD carry Shan “Chaox” Huang along with Maria “Yuno” Creveling and Rami “Inori” Charagh, Han “Lactea” Gihyun and Chen “Spicy” Long. The team then brought in a support staff consisting of Richard “Mirkie” Mirkiewicz and Ryanne “Froskurinn” Mohr.
The team parted ways with Gihyun soon after and are currently playing with Hyun “Phasekiller” Woo Yoon, a Korean solo queue player famous for his unconventional Heimerdinger pick.
“The team and I are excited to be working with LS,” Huang, the team’s captain, told the Daily Dot. “I am sure the results will show in the upcoming tournament.”
Rodrigues said he was looking forward to a great season with the team:
“I’ll be partnering with Nick as the assistant coach for Team Roar. I’m bringing expertise in high level competitive play, as demonstrated by my unmatched teaching success in SF4, to the LoL scene. I look forward to a great season. I am privileged to get the chance to serve rising stars in a teaching capacity once again.”
For his part, De Cesare said he was “really glad to have settled with Roar for a lot of reasons.”
“Not only will it allow me to work with some players I’ve heard a lot about, but it is also an NA team, which means it is easier for me to transition when we’d make LCS. I’m confident the team can make it into LCS, as currently we’re in the NACS. I’m also really glad that I’ll be working with Kaizen and Froskurrin especially and thankful for the opportunity.”
