Florida Southern College named JiaJun “Gate” Yu as their new League of Legends head coach this past week. The Chinese-American support player formerly competed in the professional League of Legends scene, playing in the LCS for Immortals and Immortals Academy among other teams. He retired in November of 2020 after competing professionally for six years.

“I originally came from collegiate before I even started to play amateur,” Gate explained in a press release which was sent to Inven Global. “I understand the balance between school life and League for the players. I want to create an environment here drawn from my experience at the pro levels so that the players feel like they have the opportunity to see high-level competitive play.”

Gates competed with the League of Legends for the University of British Columbia, where he served as both a player and an assistant coach at various times.

“We’re all very excited to watch the League of Legends team continue to dominate in the collegiate scene,” said the Director of Athletics & Dean of Wellness Drew Howard in the press release. “Gate, as Head Coach, is an amazing addition to the Florida Southern College team, and we can’t wait to see him build up our players as scholars and competitors.”

Florida Southern already claimed their first victory in the Peachbelt Conference under Gates’  leadership this past week. They have competed in the collegiate League of Legends scene since 2017 and were the first college in Florida to launch a varsity esports program.