The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coach ventures into VALORANT coaching for the first time.
Enigma Gaming have announced the appointment of Lukas “yb” Gröning as their coach, the organization announced on Twitter. The 30-year-old’s move to Enigma Gaming marks his first foray into VALORANT, bringing an end to an approximately nine-year career as a player and coach in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
yb, who is mostly known in the Asian CS:GO scene for his time with OpTic India, Signify, and Singapore’s Asking Questions, will embark on a new chapter of his career by switching to competitive VALORANT and leaving CS:GO behind. Additionally, The German coach will reunite with Sabyasachi “Antidote” Bose after coaching him in the iconic OpTic India CS:GO roster.
“There are many exciting opportunities, but my priority was always to go back to India. I enjoyed my time in India so much. I really love the culture and the people’s mentality,” yb said in a statement to VALO2ASIA.
“I also wanted to work with Antidote [again]. I think he is a great guy, and we have similar approaches. I have at least learned as much from him as he learned from me. I think he always managed to get the best out of me, so it felt like a no-brainer to go and make a project happen together. Additionally, I really like the mindset of Aryaman and JP, the guys behind Enigma.”
Enigma Gaming are now ranked 21st in Asia-Pacific, their best ranking to date after the team’s core roster changes following the conclusion of the VALORANT Conquerors Championship in late August. With the newest addition to Enigma Gaming’s backbone, the organization hopes to strengthen the team in the South Asia region.
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“First and most important thing is for me to establish together with Antidote a positive and progressive mindset in the team. And rework the practice schedule and routine. On the side of the in-game-related things, we will need to see what the team needs and work on that accordingly.”
Yb joined the Shakir “hikkA” Razak-led squad in the middle of their campaign at the Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup and Esportz Premier Series, where Enigma Gaming finished first and second, respectively. Nonetheless, the German coach will have less than one month to prepare the team for their real challenge in the regular season of TEC Gauntlet Season 4, alongside the other 15 top-ranked South Asian teams.
While he has begun his duties, yb is slated to arrive in India later this month to begin on-site coaching with the players.
With yb’s addition, Enigma Gaming now have the following lineup:
- 🇱🇰 Shakir “hikkA” Razak
- 🇮🇳 Akram “Rawfiul” Virani
- 🇮🇳 Sabyasachi “Antidote” Bose
- 🇮🇳 Tejas “Rexy” Kotian
- 🇮🇳 Rishi “RvK” Vijayakumar
- 🇩🇪 Lukas “yb” Gröning (Coach)
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