After leaving SKT at the end of 2019, legendary Support player Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong surprised everyone by announcing his retirement and becoming the head coach of Royal Never Give Up – the team he had previously been part of during his competitive career in China.
Mata had previously shared that his goal was to become a coach after retiring, however, the situation came too swiftly, causing many fans to worry that this player had made a hasty decision.
During his final phase at SKT, Mata was known more as an assistant coach than a player, as he ceded the starting position to Effort. During this time, kkOma praised him, stating that Mata had a strategic talent, which was evident throughout his years in professional play.
However, being good at strategy alone is not enough to become an outstanding coach, and currently, Mata from the position of a legend at RNG is slowly losing his standing as he gets stuck in the coaching chair.
RNG finished the 2020 Spring LPL in 7th place, and is currently still stuck in the middle of the LPL Summer 2020 standings after a loss to FPX. This is a relatively poor result and reflects the decline of the LPL Summer 2019 runner-up.
RNG’s poor performance has led to much criticism of Mata in recent times. He is seen as not being able to create breakthroughs in terms of strategy, and RNG’s current playstyle relies too heavily on XBL and Xiaohu, while both of these players are either a young talent yet to mature or a veteran who has passed the peak of his career.
With 4 wins and 4 losses, it is not yet a nightmare for RNG, but due to a psychological domino effect, as the fans of this team still long for Uzi, the less-than-promising results of RNG further plunge their fandom into a state of melancholy, and Mata ultimately bears the brunt of the blame.
However, is it truly fair to place all the blame on Mata? It’s agreed that he is not fulfilling the responsibilities of a head coach, as he has not imposed his voice and influence on the entire team, but it must be acknowledged that RNG currently lacks the strength to compete with top teams.
After Uzi’s retirement, RNG no longer possesses a top-tier star, and if forced to choose, perhaps only Xiaohu and Ming remain. In that position, it is difficult to evaluate whether Mata is truly a failed coach, as RNG itself is adrift after years of living off the inspiration named Uzi.
In the match against FPX, Mata’s draft/pick position was replaced by analyst Tabe, and the result did not change at all; RNG still lost, in a game where the members could not find each other. So, does Mata really deserve to take responsibility for this issue?