After six seasons of jungling for EDward Gaming, Ming "Clearlove" Kai is hanging up his mouse and keyboard. Clearlove will retire from competitive League of Legends after nearly a decade of play to become the Head Coach of EDG for 2020. Clearlove most recently started for EDG in the 2019 LPL Spring Playoffs, but had shared the spot with Chen "Haro" Wen-Lin since the start of 2018.
When Haro moved to Rogue Warriors before the 2019 Summer Split, Clearlove took a break from competitive play for the rest of the year as rookie Jungler Zhao "Jiejie" Li-Jie debuted in the 2019 LPL Summer Split and remained the starter for the rest of the year.
A new coach, Cheng "CorGi" Pin-Lun, was signed to be a part of Clearlove's staff alongside Lee "Heart" Gwan-hyung. Heart joined EDG as Head Coach before the 2019 season, but the team was unable to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship for the first time in the team's six year existence.
Heart will remain on the team as a coach on Clearlove's staff; his experience both as a professional player in the Samsung Galaxy organization, and his previous roles as Head Coach for both LGD Gaming and Royal Never Give Up provide him with valuable strategic insights, experience, and familiarity within the domestic competitive space. However, Clearlove's leadership as a player on EDG extended far beyond shotcalling, and the organization has decided he is fit for the job in 2020.
Clearlove has taken breaks in his career before, but his immediate move to another role within the same organization would imply that this could be permanent. Clearlove has been past his playing prime for a few seasons, and his ceberal approach to the game, veteran presence, and his familiarity with EDG make him a fitting candidate for the job of Head Coach. Clearlove joined EDG upon its inception at the beginning of 2014, and now, he will be trusted to lead it.
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