JD Gaming Head Coach ‘Homme’ officially parts ways with organization
Today, Beijing JD Gaming Intel Esports Club (JDG) has announced the official departure of Yoon “Homme” Sung-young as their Head Coach.
“Homme” had been listed as inactive since the 12th of November, the day of JDG’s elimination from Worlds 2023. However, he remained with the organization until today, where he now is reported to be parting ways with the Chinese organization and officially retiring.
A Decade of Service
Homme is perhaps most well known for his time on Samsung White as a coach, or for his 4+ plus years with JDG. However, he has been active since 2012, when he served as the Top Laner for MVP White. He was only a player for two years, transitioning into a sub for Samsung White in 2013 before swapping to coaching the year after.
After getting a taste for coaching in Korea, he moved to China, where he coached a number of teams for Vici Gaming, then Team WE in 2016 finally, he ended up on JD Gaming in 2018, where he resided until 2020, taking a years break, and returning to coach the team for another 2 years.
Under his coaching, JD Gaming became the most feared super team in League of Legends in 2023. Their team, while messy at times, had a curious synergy that worked for them. Homme managed to lead this roster to the Semifinals of Worlds 2023, where they were stopped short by the winners, T1, on their way to the Grand Finals.
Nearly the Golden Road
Earlier that year, JDG had taken the trophy for the Mid-Summer Invitational, setting them up for a potential ‘Golden Road’ run in 2023. Alas, it was not to be, as their defeat at the hands of T1 shattered the road. JDG was also infamous throughout the year for rarely losing games.
Combined across the year, JDG’s regular season consisted of a stellar 17-5 record in series. They had won both Playoffs, and MSI. Short of Worlds, they had pretty much won everything under Homme and the talented roster.
With the retirement of Homme, questions now swirl if JDG can maintain their 2023 dominant roster. Moreover, who will they bring on to replace such a tenured coach?
Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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