I’m sitting here in 2026, watching yet another coaching carousel spin in the LTA and LEC, and my mind drifts back to a cold February morning in 2018. I was a scruffy solo-queue grinder back then, and the news hit my feed like a Nidalee spear: the Golden Guardians had fired head coach Yoonsup “Locodoco” Choi after just two weeks of the North American LCS. Two weeks. That’s not even enough time to learn everyone’s summoner names, let alone build a team culture.

The team was 0-4, bottom of the barrel, and the standings looked uglier than a failed flash. The Golden Guardians announced the move, and Tyler Perron stepped in as interim head coach for the weekend. As a new org owned by the same ownership group as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, Golden Guardians weren’t expected to set the world on fire in their first season. Everyone said it was a process. Ownership and players knew it would take time to build sustainable success. But the firing told a different story: ownership wasn’t willing to stomach early mediocrity. The honeymoon was over before the first date ended.

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I remember arguing with my duo partner about it. He said, 'They just needed a scapegoat.' I said, 'Maybe, but you can’t fire the whole roster after four games.' The writing was on the wall, though. In esports, patience is often thinner than a caster’s tie. One bad week, and suddenly everyone’s job is on the line. It’s a tough row to hoe when you’re trying to build something from scratch.

That weekend, Golden Guardians faced TSM and Team Liquid—two absolute giants. It was a baptism by fire. I stayed up late, burning the midnight oil, hoping for a miracle. Spoiler: miracles are rare in the LCS. The weekend didn’t magically fix everything. The team was still searching for its identity, and the interim coach had to grab a hose while the building was already smoking. It was out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the situation:

Key fact Detail
Team Golden Guardians
Coach fired Yoonsup “Locodoco” Choi
Timing After two weeks into NA LCS
Record 0-4
Interim coach Tyler Perron
Ownership Same group as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors
Upcoming opponents Team SoloMid and Team Liquid

Let’s be real: the Golden Guardians were a brand-new team in a league full of veterans. They were the new kids on the block, and their first four games were against teams that had years of synergy. It was like throwing a rookie into a boxing ring with Mike Tyson. You don’t expect a knockout; you expect growth. But ownership saw the 0-4 record and hit the panic button. The move felt less like a strategic pivot and more like a public execution. Locodoco became the fall guy, and Tyler Perron inherited a pressure cooker.

Looking back from 2026, the esports industry has grown up. Coaching staffs are bigger, mental performance coaches are standard, and orgs talk about long-term development. But the Locodoco firing remains a cautionary tale. It was a classic case of 'what have you done for me lately?' in a league where everyone wants instant gratification. The Golden Guardians thought a new voice would be a silver bullet. Instead, it was just a band-aid on a bullet wound.

I’m not saying Locodoco was blameless. Maybe practice was a mess. Maybe draft philosophy clashed with players. But four games? That’s a sample size smaller than a Teemo’s shoe size. You can’t judge a coach on four games any more than you can judge a chef on one burnt toast. The proof is in the pudding, and the pudding hadn’t even set yet.

Here are a few lessons I took from the whole saga:

  • Two weeks is not a trial. It’s a knee-jerk reaction.

  • A 0-4 start is bad, but it’s not a death sentence. In 2018, maybe it felt like one.

  • Interim coaches are firefighters. Tyler Perron had to grab a hose while the building was already smoking.

  • Ownership expectations matter. The Warriors’ ownership group knows NBA patience, but esports is a different beast.

  • Scapegoating doesn’t fix synergy. You can’t bench your way out of a culture problem.

In 2026, Golden Guardians are no longer in the League of Legends scene—the org exited the LCS years ago—but that moment still sticks with me. It taught me that in esports, 'trust the process' is often just a bumper sticker. When the money is on the line, patience evaporates faster than a Zed shadow. It’s a cold game, and the axe can fall at any time. I’ve seen orgs in 2026 make the same mistake, just with bigger budgets and slicker PR. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

If I were a coach today, I’d keep a screenshot of that headline taped to my monitor. Not as motivation, but as a reminder: the axe can fall at any time. And if I were an owner, I’d ask myself: are we building a team or just collecting scapegoats? Because you can’t rush a garden by yelling at the seeds. 🌱

So here’s to Locodoco, wherever he is in 2026. He was thrown into the deep end, and the pool was drained before he could swim. And here’s to the Golden Guardians, a team that learned the hard way that a 0-4 start is bad, but a panic button is worse. Some lessons stick with you forever, even after the org is gone.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have solo queue to feed. 🎮