On Monday, JD Gaming have officially announced the arrival of Ming "Clearlove" Kai as their new Head Coach for the LPL squad. The legendary jungler will reunite with Hu "Ale" Jia-Le, whom he coached for a split at EDward Gaming, but more notably with Lee "Scout" Ye-chan, the midlaner he played three World Championships with from 2016 to 2018 and won two LPL titles alongside. Clearlove later served as Scout’s coach from 2020 to 2022. JDG brings him in after parting ways with Kim "cvMax" Dae-ho during Split 2; the South Korean coach has since returned home to join Dplus KIA in the LCK.

JDG’s 2025 season has been far from a success and falls well short of the level the organization reached in 2023. Yet the offseason had promised a strong comeback, especially with the signings of Peng "Xun" Li-Xun from Bilibili Gaming and one of the most promising AD Carries in the world, Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan. Lee "Scout" Ye-chan also joined the team to replace Zeng "Yagao" Qi—a move that looked like an upgrade on paper. However, filling the shoes of Zhuo "Knight" Ding has proven to be a tall order, and the Korean midlaner has struggled to find his footing. Perhaps the arrival of his former teammate and coach could be the catalyst Scout and JDG need.

Clearlove’s signing could also be invaluable for Xun. As a former jungler himself, Clearlove is regarded as a living legend in the LPL, with five domestic titles and an MSI trophy to his name. His experience and leadership may be exactly what JDG needs to get back on track.

Succeed as a coach

Throughout his career, he only played for two teams: first Team WE from 2012 to 2013, participating in the Season 2 World Championship, then transferring to EDward Gaming—the team where he would spend the rest of his career and build his legacy. With EDG, he won two LPL splits in 2014 and reached the Worlds quarterfinals, claimed the Spring 2015 title as well as the MSI championship after defeating SKT T1 in the final, followed by another Worlds quarterfinal appearance.

In 2016, he won the Summer split but was again stopped in the Worlds quarterfinals, this time by the ROX Tigers. In 2017, he won his fifth and final LPL trophy—his second alongside Scout. The 2018 and 2019 seasons were less successful, after which Clearlove transitioned to Head Coach of EDG but never finished higher than 5th-6th place.