Sources: Shaves set to join Los Ratones as Assistant Coach

Kevin Edward “Shaves” Tolman is set to join Los Ratones as assistant coach for the LEC Versus Winter Split tournament, sources tell Sheep Esports on Thursday. The German coach will join, as usual, Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi, who will serve as head coach, as previously reported by Sheep Esports.

The coaching duo will serve as Los Ratones’ staff at the end of the year, starting with the Red Bull League of Its Own in Munich on November 29, and also for the LEC Versus Winter Split tournament, which will feature the ten LEC teams, Los Ratones, and Karmine Corp Blue. For now, they will not be leading the team for the rest of the year.

Shaves began his coaching career in 2020 with Fnatic as an assistant coach to Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez. The team reached the LEC Summer Split final, losing to G2 Esports, and competed at Worlds in China, making it to the quarterfinals before falling 3-2 to Top Esports. He continued as a strategic coach at Fnatic until the end of 2023, qualifying for all Worlds during that period as well as several LEC finals. For most of that time, he worked alongside YamatoCannon.

In 2024, when Karmine Corp joined the LEC, the duo joined the French club. The debut of their experience at KC was a fiasco: the team finished last in the LEC, and YamatoCannon was immediately benched, with Rehareha “Reha” Ramanana taking over. After another tenth-place finish in the Spring Split, Shaves experienced Karmine Corp’s resurgence, as the team climbed to fourth place in the Summer Split

Los Ratones will therefore change their approach for the upcoming LEC Winter Split. While they spent 2024 in the NLC with Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont as head coach—who also streamed and casted the games—this time they will have a dedicated coaching staff focused solely on the team.

The rest of Los Ratones’ year remains uncertain, as Caedrel confirmed that his team will not participate in the league next year. For the two splits following LEC Versus, the team could potentially compete in another ERL. With the recent lifting of LTR restrictions, as reported by Sheep Esports—which allows any European player to play in any regional league without limitations—it’s possible that Los Ratones could keep their current roster and move to a different ERL. Some fans are even speculating about a potential entry into the LFL or the Prime League.