EPT
With Coach Cho's retirement announced, Fomos released an exclusive article that goes behind the scenes of the CJ leader's shocking decision.
by Kang Young Hoon (kangzuck@fomos.co.kr)
“I’m going to retire after the post-season.”
“Huh?”
I couldn’t believe what Coach Cho Gyu Nam had abruptly said, when I visited the CJ house on the coach’s promise of an exclusive scoop. But he isn’t one to casually joke about such things, and I was left momentarily speechless as an uncomfortable feeling began to simmer inside me.
“Is it because of CJ’s performance? Because you failed to reach the finals?"
“No, it’s not about that. I had thought from before that this season would be my last. I’ve given notice to the organization already. How’s that? Pretty good exclusive, eh? (laughs).”
Though I didn’t yet know his exact motives, I was still fascinated by the fact Coach Cho’s face showed little signs of gloom when he said those words. Truly fascinating. Many people don’t know exactly what a progaming team’s head coach does, and can’t understand what they do to receive such a high salary from their teams. Now that there are a few ex-coaches who have been relieved due to poor performances or other reasons, a little light has been shed on the situation. But the position of coach in e-Sports has long been considered a secretive sinecure.
Even so, amongst the coaches of the 12 teams, Coach Cho was the one who made his work visible, and made you imagine that the position beckons the man, more than the man wants the position. Another interesting thing was that all of the fans knew about Coach Cho’s qualities, not just e-Sports insiders. Think about it. I could try and give Coach Cho high praise here, but he doesn’t actually need it because he has already received even higher accolades from the institution of e-Sports.
What kind of impressions do people have of coach Cho? Stand-out charisma? A man who cares for his players secretly, but masks it with a face so hard that you wonder if he bleeds like the rest of us? Someone who encourages his young players by saying “Becoming the best alongside me means you’re going to become the best with this team.”? These are all fine and good, but the important thing is that these are not perceptions that have been intentionally perpetuated. Instead these aspects of his personality have always been revealed quietly through stories told here and there, and have somehow become even more solidly ingrained in our minds because of it.
The coach Cho I know is a very cool and rational person. That is how he deals with his players, the team’s results, and himself. So Coach Cho has finally kicked aside what was considered his guaranteed meal-ticket. What caused him to do so? After he decided upon his retirement, I had the opportunity to talk to him about it. As you can see, there was no interview proper.
Though Coach Cho wanted to deny it, it did come down to the team’s performance. “Because I was there, CJ was strong. But because I was there, we couldn’t be stronger.” admitted Coach Cho. From the early days of e-Sports, Coach Cho was famous for his close relationships with his players, and had coached the most individual league champions of any coach. Recently, he saw his pupil Effort win the Starleague, and the eighteen year old Snow win the Proleague Rookie of the Year award.
What’s harder, making an environment in which you create champions, or winning the championship itself? Whatever the answer is, Coach Cho succeeded greatly at the former, but failed at the latter. Why did it turn out that way? Coach Cho said he had spent 60% of his strength on this industry. Not 50 or 70, but an exact 60%.
“If I could concentrate 80% of myself from here on out, CJ could win a championship. But I couldn’t do it. You could ask me ‘why not start now?’ but the very fact that I’m thinking about this means that it’s time for me to go. It’s important to set a good precedent by knowing when it’s your time to leave.”
Coach Cho said he’s most sorry to Mr. Oh Sang Hyun at the CJ office on this point. Though he says he concentrated 60%, he’s performed at an 80% level by any normal standard. And because he also focused on the progamers’ quality of life and their development, CJ could never really complain to Coach Cho.
As he decided upon retirement, Coach Cho was worried about two things. First, that the blame would somehow be put on CJ’s back as a result, and second, his players. Despite speculation, Savior’s match fixing scandal had nothing to do with Coach Cho’s decision. “I don’t want Jaeyoon’s (Savior) name to get brought up because of this. That kid is going through some incredible hardships right now, and I don’t want to add to them. The really important thing is the players left on CJ. Not long ago, I called those kids together for a talk. I told them ‘You are really strong players, and if you don’t win the championship, then it’s completely on me. That’s all you need to know.’
Then why did Coach Cho Gyu Nam have trouble concentrating?
When I was fretting over a variety of issues a while back, Coach Cho gave me the following advice. “Mr. Kang. If things get complicated, try to simplify your thoughts. When e-Sports is in real danger, think about this. If this industry were to collapse, calmly think about who would still stay behind. Think about who’s in it for e-Sports, and who’s just a businessman. Then the answer should come more easily than you thought.”
It was the best advice I ever got. To think someone like that is going to leave this industry before me. I couldn’t help but feel slightly betrayed, but when I saw his laughing face, I knew there was more to the story.
“So what will you do?”
“I’m gonna take it easy for now.”
“What I meant was, are you going stop working in e-Sports entirely?”
“That’s not something I can pin down just like that. I’ll just say that right now, I really just want to rest. No one believes me, but it’s the truth. I’ll stay at home and take care of the kids. (laughs)”
“…”
“Though you probably already know, I won’t be able to rest for too long. I’m not the type that can stay inactive for long. What’s certain is that acting as CJ Entus Head Coach Cho Gyu Nam, and acting as just plain old Cho Gyu Nam will be two different things. There’s something very appealing about the position of coach, but it can also be constricting.”
Coach Cho isn’t one to talk a lot. He is so stingy with his words that some people are afraid to approach him. Like others with that style of speaking, there is a certain charisma to Coach Cho. On matters of importance, they can draw the line with just a few words, or say a few things that resonate in your mind. It’s almost always useless to pry with those types. But I can still try.
“But if you do this, the response from the fans will be…. You’re incredibly popular. For a ten year veteran, shouldn’t you have some kind of interview that’s more heartfelt than the usual retirement interview? Like your most memorable moments, players, etc….”
“I get what you’re saying. But I don’t like that kind of thing. If had lived on memories, I wouldn’t have made it this far. If I wanted to talk about my favorite memories or the good times we had, then I should stayed a coach. If I have that much attachment left.”
In the end, I couldn’t get a clean interview out of Coach Cho. I can’t remember all the things we said that day, nor could I record them all here. But what could I do? He called me in for an exclusive, and but all he gave me was the chance to be shocked, slightly before everyone else.
As I left the CJ house with a forced smile on my face, I tried to put things together in my head.
“Coach Cho Gyu Nam has left e-Sports of his own will. It’s not something to smile about. From our few conversations, I can tell that he knows everything there is about e-Sports, and he is a true ‘e-Sports man.’ Even so, he left happily, so I’m leaving happily right now. Maybe his name was really Cho Gyu Nam, not Coach Cho Gyu Nam."
good luck to him as he goes on with his life, and good luck to CJ as they try to deal with the loss of one of the best coaches ever...
