There’s a level of uncertainty surrounding 100 Thieves’ League of Legends program. Rumors of the organization leaving League were only amplified by the announcement that Riot Games had bought back its permanent partnership with the formerly-named LCS and 100T was made a provisional guest.
Even when the organization was starting to make the right moves on the Rift, it seemed to be heading for the exit door. Head coach Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer has been an integral part of 100T’s League program, but now he must prepare his inexperienced squad to fight for a championship in what could be their last dance. Ahead of the LTA Split One, Dot Esports sat down with Goldenglue to go over his second year as a tier-one head coach, dealing with the speculation and more.
Goldenglue is entering his second season as the head coach for 100T and saw more success than perhaps he even anticipated in his first year. “The first year was a lot of gaining confidence and just being able to coach the tier-one league. I think I’m going to be coming in with more confidence and more, I guess, sureness in myself. Strategically, I also have evolved and figured out what works for specifically this team, and what doesn’t.”
One of the bigger achievements Goldenglue had in his first year was developing Quid into a prominent mid laner—so much so that the Korean player was named the 2024 LCS Spring Split MVP, a meteoric rise from his initial season in North America. Quid went from a struggling player to one of the best in his role, excelling in the ADC mid meta on champions like Zeri and Smolder.
100T would only make one roster change in the offseason, bringing in FBI for his second stint with the organization. “The main thing we were looking for is someone to cover up the holes we had in communication, which typically, veterans will do,” Goldenglue told Dot. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why we picked up Vic, and honestly, it’s going better than even I thought it would be.” FBI is no stranger to being the carry that his team needs while also playing a supportive role, highlighting the importance of adding a veteran to the roster.
100T ended up causing one of the biggest upsets in recent history during the LCS summer playoffs by knocking Cloud9 out of Worlds 2024 contention, a series that would ultimately be jojopyun’s last in North America as he moved to the LEC. That series was pivotal in 100T’s development, and now, going into year two, with one less Worlds spot available, there will be pressure to go one further and push for a top-two finish. Given the third-place finish in the LCS, there is an acceptance that his team will have much higher expectations going into the 2025 season.
Goldenglue believes that championship glory is within reach this year for his 100T squad. Given their ability to topple one of the big organizations in C9 and make it back to Worlds, it’s evident why the expectations are high. Goldenglue is not allowing the League speculation to sway him from his lofty goals of lifting a championship with this team.
And while these are unprecedented times for a head coach who may have his League program ending early, Goldenglue remains hopeful everything will work out; “my first reaction [to 100T news] was a bit of disappointment… I definitely have a lot of loyalty to 100 Thieves, I feel like they treated me well, and they told me very early in the process, and they let me explore options if I wanted to… I’m just focusing on, you know, enjoying my time with these players and making it the best that it can be for us and for the fans. And you know, if we do our best, then other things will fall into place.”
100 Thieves kick off their LTA North campaign this Sunday when they go up against Disguised in their opening game of the new season.
Published: Jan 24, 2025 09:42 am