Songchai “Tongrak” Payang has been appointed as the coach of Team NKT, the Thai organization has revealed.
THAILAND — Former FULL SENSE coach Songchai “Tongrak” Payang, and Maitri “MAIROLLS” Sukrob have been added to Team NKT’s backroom staff as coach and assistant coach, respectively.
The 25-year-old had been on the hunt for a new challenge since January when he stepped down from FULL SENSE after working for the organization as a coach. Tongrak spent eight months with FULL SENSE, guiding the team to victory in the VCT APAC Last Chance Qualifier and playoff appearances at VALORANT Champions last year. He will be replacing Phuttiphong “w1zard” Ninthavornkul, who had stood behind the squad since its inception and will now transition towards a managerial role.
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Additionally, Maitri “MAIROLLS” Sukrob will be shifting to an assistant coach role after playing for the team since November, Team NKT also revealed. As a player, MAIROLLS is known for his escapades in the Thai upper-echelon teams in CS:GO. Along with Phoomphat “qqGOD” Phojjanart, he transitioned to Riot’s FPS in May last year and plied his trade for Renatus Black before ultimately being picked up by Team NKT as a player in November.
To fill in the void, Team NKT brought in Kampanat “JaoTae” Thongjaeng, with the move marking his return with the lineup after being part when the team was still known as “Need Sponsor”.
The new composition of Team NKT has already made its debut in VCT Thailand Stage 1 Challengers, where they are locked in for the playoffs that are set to kick off four days from now.
With this change, Team NKT’s VALORANT division looks as follows:
- 🇹🇭 Phoomphat “qqGOD” Phojjanart
- 🇹🇭 Kampanat “JaoTaee” Thongjaeng
- 🇹🇭 Kittikawin “Laz” Musikgo
- 🇹🇭 Tanawat “xZe” Kannark
- 🇹🇭 Thanasit “Raigard”
- 🇹🇭 Songchai “Tongrak” Payang (Coach)
- 🇹🇭 Maitri “MAIROLLS” Sukrob (Assistant coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of FPSThailand