Reapered to replace Zikz as 100 Thieves' Head Coach

Shortly after announcing Head Coach Zikz departure, 100 Thieves have already lined up and announced his replacement - none other than former Cloud9 coach, Reapered.

The move comes after a disappointing Spring Split despite strong roster acquisitions coming into 2021 and a solid Lock-In Tournament performance. 100 Thieves fell off heavily towards the end of the Split, and lost in ignominious fashion to TSM in playoffs 1-3.

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Zikz was known for bringing Counter Logic Gaming to back-to-back Split victories in Summer 2015 and Spring 2016, and then taking CLG all the way to MSI finals, where they eventually dropped to a rampant SK Telecom T1. After a middling record following that impressive high, he moved to TSM in 2019 achieving two second-place finishes, and then 100T n 2020.

However, 100 Thieves’ continuing issues - particularly around finding a functioning playstyle for either Damonte or Ryoma in the midlane - and late-season drop-off have led to his departure. In his place, Reapered is a similarly storied and decorated LCS coach, with a very different coaching style.

Originally a pro-player for the MiG and Azubu Blaze teams (winning the inaugural OGN Season), Reapered made his name as the superstar player for SK Telecom’s debut LoL roster. That SKT team famously took down Fnatic to win IEM Season 7 Cologne. Reapered eventually moved to coaching in 2015, joining EDward Gaming and bringing down his former organisation SK Telecom to win the inaugural MSI tournament, before moving over to the LCS to coach Cloud9 for 5 seasons straight.

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Reapered only managed to bring Cloud9 to one LCS title in that time, in the Spring of 2020, but famously brought C9 through myriad Worlds gauntlet qualifiers and four 2nd place finishes, alongside a Worlds semi-finals finish in 2018. He’s also won an impressive number of Coach of the Split awards.

(Picture: LoL Esports)

He finally parted ways with Cloud9 last Summer after a catastrophic collapse halfway through the Summer Split, failing to qualify for Worlds for the first time since he joined the organisation despite winning the LCS in Spring.

With his move over to 100T, Reapered will be looking to channel his charisma and infamous “Brain Checks,” and try to prove himself once more as a top coach in the LCS - the Thieves’ will certainly be hoping so.