Coach Sungmin (So Seong-min) has announced that his time with Nongshim RedForce has ended and that he is now a free agent. In his statement he pointed to the results of the past year and a half: two Ascension runs, Kickoff and Masters Santiago titles, third place at EWC, a runner-up finish in VCT Pacific 2026 and a Champions playoff appearance.
Sungmin says he is looking exclusively for an assistant coach role, mainly focused on in-game strategy. He also notes that he has two years of head coaching experience and that he led Nongshim RedForce's coaching staff during Stage 2.
He began his coaching career in 2022 as an assistant coach at Rio Company. In 2023 he joined the coaching staff of SLT Seongnam, and later that year became head coach of Mizzou Esports while studying there. Shortly afterwards he returned to Korea as SLT's head coach and led the team to a fourth-place finish.
He then joined Sin Prisa Gaming as an assistant coach and helped the team win Pacific Ascension, which earned it a place in VCT. Ahead of the 2025 season he became head coach of T1 Academy, but left mid-year to reunite with the former Sin Prisa Gaming players at Nongshim.
The announcement comes shortly after it was revealed that Nongshim RedForce was not selected as a partnered organization ahead of Riot's next partnership shift. According to VCT's Global Contract Database, all player contracts expire on November 2, at the end of the 2026 season. Head coach SilKanoN is the only member with an extended deal, running through the end of the 2027 season.