Introduction: The S16 season has officially started, and most players have likely been paying attention to the recent clashes. Matches in various regions are highly intense, but the LPL is still on its Spring Festival hiatus. Meanwhile, teams there have been steadily returning to normal training. During a recent livestream, Baolan, a distinguished LPL support player, openly commented on the LPL coaching staff. In his view, many LPL coaches have serious issues—they subconsciously try to prove they understand the game better than players and seek the spotlight. They resist seeing themselves in a superior-subordinate relationship and prefer to act as teachers. Additionally, some netizens revealed the luxury cars owned by top LPL players, surprisingly showing Zhu Kai drives a Maserati.

Baolan Highlights the Core Issues with LPL Coaches

Most players are quite familiar with the LPL region. As a former top-tier global league, LPL has developed rapidly over the past two years, yet its results have worsened, failing even to reach the World Championship finals, watching two LCK teams secure the championship early. Honestly, this isn’t just about players’ skills; there are significant problems throughout LPL’s structure. The ultimate world champion team must have outstanding players, elite coaches, and a strong support system—each of these elements is indispensable and critical.

In a recent livestream, Baolan, the first LPL championship-winning support, openly pointed out problems with LPL coaches. He stated that LPL coaches subconsciously want to prove they know the game better than players and crave attention. Many coaches care deeply about their authority and don’t view the coach-player relationship as hierarchical, instead seeing themselves as teachers. Frankly, if this is true, the entire LPL coaching staff is already in bad shape. If your game sense and execution are better than the players’, why be a coach instead of competing on stage? They always try to impose their ideas on players.

Honestly, it seems Homme fits Baolan’s description of such a coach. When he was with TES, he frequently changed lineups on the fly and wouldn’t allow players to oppose his ideas. Isn’t that trying to prove he knows the game better? Plus, he values his authority highly. The main point is that aside from some top-tier teams’ coaches, most others in LPL seem to come from obscure places. If this were LCK, they probably wouldn’t even qualify as assistant coaches. Recently, Huang even joked that he wouldn’t coach TES unless he had no other options.

It must be said that LPL salaries are still quite high. Some netizens compiled the luxury cars owned by insiders: Uzi drives a 911 and a Maybach, Doinb owns a nearly ten-million-yuan Cullinan, Zizhao has a Maybach 100th Anniversary edition, Xiaohu drives a Cadillac XT5, AShui has an Audi Q4, and Faker sports a custom AMG SL 63. The most awkward is Zhu Kai, often discussed as the "delivery coach," who surprisingly drives a Maserati. Honestly, not long ago, some criticized Zhu Kai, saying he’s not even an assistant coach, so why claim the honor of a World Championship? After all, his name isn’t on the trophy.

Farewell Thoughts

I feel Baolan’s points are entirely valid; this might be a deep-rooted issue among some LPL coaches. When matches are lost, it’s blamed on players’ performance; when won, the credit goes to coaches’ foresight and ability to exploit opponents’ lineup weaknesses, helping players find breakthroughs. Honestly, coaches’ lineup decisions are important, but players are the ones competing on stage. With the recent addition of coaches’ voice comms, they have more communication opportunities—so why can’t they properly define their roles?

What do all of you viewers think about this matter?