100 Thieves’ new LCS roster had a lot of hype behind it going into 2023 with some veteran talent, but they’ve swapped out their head coach in the middle of the Spring Split to try and stem the bleeding of their subpar performance so far.
With a 5-8 record in the LCS so far, 100 Thieves are bordering on being knocked out of playoff contention in the LCS 2023 Spring Split. Teams rarely make it to playoffs with an 8-10 record, meaning that one more loss could prove fatal to their chances of breaching the top 6 teams in the region.
This flies in direct contrast to their last few years of LCS competition, with the team always having a stellar regular season and solid performances in Playoffs. Despite only Can ‘Closer’ Çelik remaining from that incredibly strong roster, fans had faith that the fresh talent mixed with veteran leadership would be able to bring 100 Thieves the same level of success they had before.
In an attempt to change something before they’re out of Playoffs entirely, 100 Thieves have promoted Erlend ‘Nukeduck’ Holm to their head coach for now and bumped Christophe ‘kaas’ van Oudheusden out of the position.
Nukeduck replaces Kaas as interim head coach to finish LCS split
For LEC fans, Nukeduck may sound like a familiar name. He was on XL in 2022, where the org made its first and only showing at the LEC Playoffs. After getting to the Playoffs and getting his spot in the LEC nabbed by Vetheo, Nukeduck landed a spot with 100 Thieves as their assistant coach.
100 Thieves have had an unexpectedly lackluster split, even by the standards of their own players. Dexerto’s interviews with both Peter ‘Doublelift’ Peng and Søren ‘Bjergsen’ Bjerg near the split’s outset showed both players as being confident in their team environment and overall performance even if they still thought there was work to be done.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Since then, that’s certainly changed. In a bid to try and change things up as their playoff run is in peril, Nukeduck has been moved to the head coach position.
100 thieves management envisioned certain values for the headcoach position and they didn't end up matching with me. That combined with recent results made their decision. https://t.co/z7MRP6sf5s
— Christophe 'kaas' van Oudheusden (@kaasGX) March 5, 2023
kaas is no longer with the organization, citing that management “envisioned certain values” that he didn’t align with. As a result, Nukeduck has now taken over the head coach position.
It remains to be seen whether these are the only changes 100 Thieves will make. While a roster move like replacing Doublelift with William ‘UNF0RGIVEN’ Nieminen, 100T’s NACL ADC, might sound like a downgrade to most, UNF0RGIVEN’s last split on MAD Lions painted him as one of the best ADCs in Europe, and he’s had continued excellence in NA. Who knows what could happen if 100 Thieves miss the Playoffs?
For now, they’ve still got a chance. It’ll be a hard climb for them, however, and there’s a chance this isn’t the last roster change we see.