Longtime fans of
LoL and the LCK will recall
Duke, a veteran Korean toplaner with an impressive history. That includes his dominant 2016 run on SKT T1, winning trophies in the LCK, MSI,
and the World Championship. After Dukeâs sixth year competing, he left his then-team Invictus Gaming in 2020, seemingly the end of a long and storied career. Thatâs why it was so surprising when three years later, Duke reappeared as the head coach of Ninjas in Pyjamas, before leaving after just one split. Now, another two years later,
Duke is back again, this time in his home region of the LCK, as the new head coach of OKSavingsBank BRION.BRO have struggled to find results in the LCK for several years. Since their rebrand with OKSavingsBank two years ago, theyâve yet to place higher than eighth in a ten-team league. Previous incarnations, like Fredit BRION, paint a similar story of ninths and tenths. Their challenges this year have come despite fielding exciting prospects, like
Byeon âHypeâ Jeong-hyeon, who dominated the LCK Challengers League in 2024. But even hyped players like Hype couldnât find success on BRO.
BROâs latest brand is in fact one of many rebrands for the shifting organization, previously having competed under names like just BRION, which acquired Kongdoo Monster, previously e-mFire, and NaJin e-mFire. That original brand, NaJin, is a familiar one to the teamâs new head coach: Duke actually spent his early career playing there, his second and third team being NaJin Black Sword and NaJin e-mFire respectively, all the way back in 2014 and 2015. So Duke, now coaching the team in the spot he played for over a decade ago, has now come full circle.
The teamâs previous head coach, Choi âEdgarâ Woo-beom, had spent that same decade coaching, including nearly five years on BRO. While Edgarâs recent years coaching have seen few positive results, he does have major successes in his history, like Samsung Galaxyâs 2017 Worlds win. Duke, on the other hand, is an unproven coaching talent, with only one split to his name, missing playoffs with NIP.
In placing their trust in Duke, BRO is looking to turn things around with a different strategist at the helm, one that led the âsameâ team years ago. Thatâs why in their announcement post, OKSavingsBank BRION didnât give Duke a âWelcome,â but instead a âWelcome Back.â If Duke, now joining as the teamâs new head coach, can really reinvigorate BRO and turn their results around, it would certainly be a very happy reunion.
Header Photo Credit: Riot Games