Team Liquid LoL coach Jatt resigns amid pressure from Alphari benching

Alan Bernal

Team Liquid head coach Joshua ‘Jatt’ Leesman resigned from his position earlier this week. The decision comes after months of pressure both inside and out of the org following Barney ‘Alphari’ Morris’ move to the bench.


  • Jatt resigns as head coach
  • Team Liquid will try a six-man roster with Alphari
  • 2020 Summer Coaching Staff of the Split, 1st LCS 2020 Summer, 1st LCS 2021 Lock In

Team Liquid and Jatt part ways

Jatt has resigned from his position as Team Liquid’s head coach following months of internal struggles that saw million-dollar transfer talent Alphari sent to the bench.

The transition will see assistant coach Jonas ‘Kold’ Andersen lead the LCS team on an interim position. Strategic coach Albert ‘H4xDefender’ Ong is expected to fill in as assistant coach.

After weeks of speculation on the state of the org, TL CEO Steve Arhancet explained the environment around team members that ultimately led to Jatt’s resignation during a June 24 press meeting.

Alphari was expected to be a big boon for the org, but came into the Summer 2021 LCS split with personal issues that affected his play, Arhancet said. This later cascaded into multiple miscommunications and conversations that “were not handled well, at all.”

Jatt handed in his resignation on Tuesday, June 22.

Team Liquid update to Alphari, Santorin

Alphari is still on his personal break until June 27, and jungler Lucas ‘Santorin’ Tao Kilmer Larsen is expected to be out due to medical reasons.

Thomas ‘Jenkins’ Tran and Jonathan ‘Armao’ will fill into the LCS.

Santorin will be back in the LCS team once he’s cleared to return. After his break, Alphari and Jenkins are expected to share the Top role in a six-man roster formula.

Team Liquid LCS roster

  • Thomas ‘Jenkins’ Tran
  • Jonathan ‘Armao’
  • Nicolaj ‘Jensen’ Jensen
  • Edward ‘Tactical’ Ra
  • Jo ‘CoreJJ’ Yong-in

Related Topics

About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?