Fired LoL coach 'literally asked everyone for money' says former pro
pcgamer.comNorth American esports organisation Team SoloMid (TSM) fired its League of Legends coach and head of player development, Zhang 'Peter Zhang' Yi, on March 18. Yi had been with the outfit for over a year and, in his decade-long career in LoL esports, also worked with Team Liquid, Echo Fox, and LMQ.
TSM's statement on the firing, posted to its various social channels, is as clinical as it gets:
«We were recently made aware of very serious allegations of conflict of interest and unethical practices against League of Legends coach Peter Zhang. After an initial investigation, we have terminated him effective immediately. We are working with external legal counsel to complete a full investigation.»
pic.twitter.com/OUUF2TcCITMarch 18, 2022
Over subsequent days, TSM has remained silent but several other parties have not. Most notably, that includes Yiliang 'DoubleLift' Peng, who is now retired but widely regarded as the greatest NA LoL player of all time. DoubleLift spent most of his career at TSM before his association with the team ended in November 2021 with a degree of acrimony and public recrimination, so bear in mind that this guy has existing beef with the team. That said, most of his claims are firsthand and absolutely eye-popping.
On a recent Twitch stream, DoubleLift claims Zhang asked him for $70,000 to cover hospital treatment for a relative. «He asked me to loan him $70,000,» says DoubleLift. «He said his grandma had cancer, and she's dying in the hospital. He needs to pay the hospital bill, which is $70,000, and he doesn't have the money yet, but he will have the money at the end of the month and then he'll pay me back.»
Suspicious of the request from someone he didn't know well, DoubleLift asked other TSM members
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