Xmithie joins TSM’s Academy League team as new head coach

A former professional League of Legends player is stepping onto a new team for the first time in a coaching position.

Jake “Xmithie” Kevin Puchero, a multi-time LCS champion who brought teams like Team Liquid to great success through his jungle gameplay, is joining TSM Academy as its new head coach. He will be taking over for André “Gunaso” Ferreira, who led the team in this position throughout the 2021 season and at the start of 2022.

Xmithie has been competing in professional League since the infancy of the game, quickly finding solace in the carry potential of the jungle role, though occasionally off-roling as an ADC. He took a step back from the main LCS stage at the end of the 2020 Summer Split after being unable to find success alongside a combustible Immortals roster that ultimately ended in tenth place.

Since then, Xmithie has moved on from professional play, indulging in endeavors such as a partnership with Pro Guides in 2021, where he put together a course on successful jungling. Otherwise, the talented jungler has not been seen in the North American League scene for some time.

TSM Academy recently announced that rookie Soul and LCK/LLA veteran Mia will be joining the roster for the upcoming Summer Split, where the team will look to bounce back from their tenth-place finish. Shenyi will seemingly be rejoining TSM’s main LCS roster, which also struggled to move past internal controversies that ended their Spring Split run in ninth place.

The 2022 Academy Summer Split does not yet have an official start date.