Coach Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi left SANDBOX Gaming on Tuesday. This was announced through dual statements from YamatoCannon himself as well as the SANDBOX organization.
"I've chosen not to re-sign with [SANDBOX Gaming]," YamatoCannon said in his Twitter statement. "I will be forever grateful for everything and I will elaborate further in the future. I will keep the memories very close to my heart and I am sure that our paths will align again to finish our story."
The team's statement read similarly, saying they were optimistic about re-signing but eventually decided to mutually part ways with the coach.
Hello fans. This is SANDBOX Gaming.
We have some sad news for you. We have decided to part ways with head coach YamatoCannon who led our team this past season. pic.twitter.com/k5yh4kXmqp- SANDBOX Gaming (@SBGaming_KOR) October 13, 2020
SANDBOX Gaming finished 7-11 in the LoL Champions Korea Summer split. They were seventh place overall and missed the playoffs despite a late-season resurgence that put them on the bubble for playoff qualification for a short time. YamatoCannon was the first Western head coach in the LCK and had previously coached Team ROCCAT, Splyce and most notably Team Vitality.
YamatoCannon has recently been a part of the European broadcast's analyst desk this year for the 2020 League of Legends World Championship.