North American Challenger Series team Gold Coin United has acquired four new players as it prepares for the 2017 season with a boot camp in South Korea.
The team signed former Team Liquid Academy top laner Colin "Solo" Earnest; former NRG Esports jungler Lucas "Santorin" Tao Kilmer Larsen; former Team Liquid mid laner Kim "FeniX" Jae-hun; and former Nova Esports AD carry Richard "Rikara" Samuel Oh.
Yoonsup "Locodoco" Choi, who was named as head coach shortly after the formation of the team, is formerly of Team Liquid and Team SoloMid. On Team Liquid, he worked with Fenix and Solo. He worked with Santorin at Team SoloMid.
"I'm excited to work with Santorin, Solo and Fenix again," Locodoco told ESPN.com. "I've had a chance to personally work with all these players and they've shown potential to grow and perform on the [League Championship Series] stage. I highly value their work ethic and willingness to improve and I can't wait to show what we can achieve."
The addition of Rikara, who just began competing in the Challenger Series over the summer, comes after he became known as one of the stronger young AD carries on the North American scene. He's in a class among the likes of Cody Sun, who recently signed with LCS team Immortals.
"For Rikara, he's been a quiet performer in the CS scene and hasn't gotten the recognition he deserves," Locodoco said. "With proper direction and dedication from Sam, I feel like he can make a mark on the North American scene as a top AD as he continues to grow."
Gold Coin United launched its brand this week, following the purchase of the North American League Championship Series spot owned by NRG Esports. The organization is backed by 68-year-old real estate magnate James "Jimmy" Kuhn and his son Jacob Kuhn.