Cautious Optimism: LCK Coaches React to Coach Voice Pilot at LCK Cup 2026

As the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) prepares to kick off the 2026 season, one of the most closely watched experiments will be the introduction of the Coach Voice. At the LCK Cup 2026 Media Day, the head coaches expressed their thoughts on the upcoming competition, as well as their own thoughts on the impact of the new system.

Opinions on Coach Voice are Split

Starting with the group stage of the LCK Cup, coaches will be allowed to communicate with their players in-game, up to three times per game, with each lasting up to 45 seconds. The goal is to allow the coaching staff to aid their teams in specific situations, adding more strategic depth to the game. Despite the novelty of Coach Voice, which will be applied to the LCK and LCP in 2026, the expectations from Korean coaches aren’t as high.

Gen.G’s new head coach Ryu was one of the first to speak up, stating that “it will have some impact”, but it won’t be significant. “I’ve thought a lot about how I can help the players, but I’m not sure. If there’s anything that clearly seems problematic, I’ll address it (through Coach Voice),” he said.

T1’s coach, Kkoma, also followed a similar line of thought: “I don’t think Coach Voice will have a significant impact on the matches. It’s still a pilot implementation, and the tournament hasn’t even started yet. We’ve thought a lot about how it can help the players, but so far, I’m not sure if it will be of much help.”

Other coaches have stated similar thoughts, with some of them wanting to see it play out before seeing its value: “I think the new attempt is positive, but we’ll have to wait and see how effective it is after the pilot implementation,” said Dplus KIA’s head coach, cvMax.

Some coaches, however, welcomed the change. Nongshim RedForce’s head coach DanDy, thinks “it adds a fun element to watching the game,” while DN SOOPers’ oDin thinks it might help with the players’ mental health. On this last point, Hanwha Life Esports’ coach Homme was among those to express some concerns about his players’ concentration getting disrupted.

LCK Cup 2026

The LCK Cup 2026 is set to begin on January 14, featuring the ten LCK teams competing for two spots at the first global tournament of the year, First Stand, which will take place in mid-March in São Paulo, Brazil. Earlier this week, the league released the schedule for the group stage phase, which will see four weeks of action between Baron Group, formed by Gen.G, T1, Nongshim RedForce, DN SOOPers, and Hanjin Brion, and the Elder Group, consisting of Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA, KT Rolster, BNK FearX, and DRX.

According to the format, the teams from one group will face all teams from the other group in a single round robin featuring best-of-three series using Fearless Draft. Once the group phase, the top three performing teams will move straight to the playoffs, while the rest of the teams, except the bottom-placed one, will compete for the last three playoff spots in play-ins. The LCK Cup champions will be crowned on March 1.