Mad Lions’ British head coach James ‘Mac’ MacCormack has extended his contract with LEC team Mad Lions, as have the other coaching staff at the organisation.
Mad Lions, OverActive Media’s professional League of Legends franchise, have today announced contract renewals for all four of their coaches.
This includes strategic coach Christophe ‘Kaas’ van Oudheusden, analyst Carlos ‘Aagie’ Carpio Cuenca and head of player development Patrick ‘Pad’ Suckow-Breum, who previously worked in the UK League of Legends scene with MNM Gaming and described this transition as ‘mind-blowing’.
Three of the staff have renewed their contracts through November 2023, while Kaas has renewed through November 2022.
Mad said in a press release that Mac has been ‘an instrumental part of the team since 2018, promoted to his current position in 2020’. The same year he won the coach of the split award twice while leading a mostly rookie roster, and this year Mac is up for Esports Coach of the Year at the 2021 Esports Awards taking place on November 20th.
Mac commented: “I’m thrilled to continue working with Mad Lions alongside such a talented group of coaching staff. I consider myself extremely lucky to have worked with everyone inside the organisation, from players, to support staff, to upper management – I’m truly grateful for our journey together over the past two years.
“Looking ahead, we strive to make our fans and community proud by continuing to grow and thrive within the LEC, and in doing so, deliver unforgettable experiences and moments that have become synonymous with Mad Lions.”
A previous EU LCS pro player, strategic coach Kaas has ‘quickly developed into a key pillar of the coaching staff, continuously advancing the team and contributing to its positive culture’, Mad said.
“Aagie has made a significant impact on team systems and approaches through data-driven insights and the creation of new tools that help inform players on in-game strategies,” the org added.
Then, after joining Mad Lions at the start of the 2021 season, Pad has transitioned from assistant coach to head of player development. Together with the team’s analyst Aagie, he refined Mad’s scouting approach. Beyond his work for the LEC team, Pad will also be responsible for long-term player development across the entire League of Legends department, including the academy team.
Pad added: “No LA weather for now, so happy to extend with Mad Lions and our incredible support staff and players. Thanks for trusting me Mac, I am so fucking happy. Happy to be staying with Mad until end of 2023 as head of player development.”
“Being able to continue with the same coaching staff who have had such a positive impact on the team puts us in a prime position as we begin planning for next year.”
Adam Adamou, OverActive Media
The renewals follow Mad’s Lions’ most successful season to date, having won back-to-back 2021 LEC championships, which Mac previously described by saying ‘a new dawn has broken, welcome to the age of lions’.
The team recently made it to the quarter finals at Worlds 2021, where Mad Lions were beaten by Damwon Gaming and unfairly criticised by Mad Lions content creator Revenant.
Adam Adamou, chief strategy officer at OverActive Media, commented: “Mad Lions recently wrapped their most successful season to date. As back-to-back split champions and advancing to the quarter finals at the League of Legends World Championship, the team showed immense progress, really hitting their stride in 2021.
“Being able to continue with the same coaching staff who have had such a positive impact on the team puts us in a prime position as we begin planning for next year.”
The contracts of Mad Lions bot laners Carzzy (first team) and Flakked (academy) will expire later this month, according to the LoL Global Contract Database, with both players being linked with a move away from Mad during the off-season.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
