Autumn Kim
Many players who follow the "StarCraft" competitive scene will be familiar with the name "Autumn Kim" (affectionately called by fans as Sister Autumn). This South Korean StarCraft player, who started her career in esports back in 1998, became the first and only female coach in the industry in 2003. However, she has now chosen to take a break and has left Samsung.
According to the South Korean esports website Daily Esports, Kim's contract with Samsung Galaxy Khan expired at the end of September this year, after which she chose to leave the team. The reason why this news was not revealed until now is that she chose to delay the announcement to avoid external factors affecting the team.
Currently, regarding the reasons for leaving, Kim herself stated it was due to personal choice, but there are already views outside that this may be related to a team acquisition deal made by Samsung last month.
It is reported that in September this year, Samsung acquired two League of Legends teams from MVP, and their former head coach Choi Run-sang also joined Samsung along with the teams. Coincidentally, he also has some experience coaching StarCraft II, so position conflicts could also be one of the reasons for Kim's departure.
Looking back, during her time as a professional player, Kim won numerous awards, including the runner-up title in the women's StarCraft category at the WCG in November 2001. After transitioning into a coaching role, she was named the best coach in the early stages of the SPL in 2007, and in February and August 2008, she led her team to win the runner-up and champion titles in the SPL league respectively.