DK’s New Star-Studded Coaching Staff
On the afternoon of November 13 (Vietnam time), DK officially announced their new coaching staff after parting ways with coach Zefa. Specifically, two SKT T1 legends, Bengi and Poohmandu, along with coach Hachani, will be the new coaching team for DK in the upcoming 2025 season. With the reputation and caliber established during their time at SKT T1, DK’s recruitment of both Bengi and Poohmandu is akin to a “blockbuster” deal in the LCK.
Not only is the reputation noteworthy, but the surprise factor also makes this deal extremely interesting, especially regarding Bengi’s position. The reason is that since the LCK Summer 2023, Faker’s “right-hand man” has almost completely “disappeared” from the professional League of Legends scene. Fans only spotted Bengi once at a wedding of a former teammate, making his activities over the past year very mysterious.
DK Hopes Bengi Will Turn Lucid into a New Legend
The mystery surrounding Bengi has raised questions about DK’s true motives in recruiting him and Poohmandu as coaches for the 2025 season. The Korean media also posed this question right after the blockbuster deal was announced. In an interview with Naver, DK revealed that they have extremely high ambitions for this deal.
“During the transfer process, we interviewed many coaches and discussed with players to find the most suitable coaching staff. When talking with Bengi, we felt that his ideas and understanding of League of Legends were exceptional. Moreover, for DK, Lucid’s development will elevate other players in the future. DK’s management believes that a legendary jungler like Bengi can significantly assist Lucid in developing his skills and achievements. In fact, we hope that Lucid can reach legendary status just like Bengi,” shared DK’s Director Kim with Naver.
If closely following DK last season, fans could easily see that Lucid is being groomed to become a cornerstone of the team. Notably, Lucid and ShowMaker (a key figure for DK) have contracts that extend until 2026. Meanwhile, stars like Kingen and Aiming do not have the same deal. The reason is that Lucid is an extremely talented player who has been developed by DK through various youth levels and is on his way to becoming an icon for this team.
Despite the high expectations, Lucid’s performance, as well as DK’s, was not particularly outstanding. The biggest highlight for this team was perhaps their surprising victory over T1 in the regional qualifiers with a score of 3-2. At the 2024 World Championship, Lucid and DK continued to disappoint as they failed to advance past the Swiss round after losing three consecutive matches against LPL representatives. Clearly, with a player like Lucid who has high expectations, the mediocre performance last season is hard to accept.
Therefore, DK’s recruitment of a true legend in the jungler position like Bengi is seen as an extremely wise move. Not only in terms of expertise, but the extensive competitive experience from Faker’s “right-hand man” could help Lucid grow in terms of mentality. If DK’s plans come to fruition, this team could make a strong comeback and compete for major titles in the future.