North American Challenger Series team Gold Coin United has acquired former Phoenix1 AD carry Brandon "Mash" Phan as an in-house substitute for its League of Legends team, the organization announced today.
"Mash is going to be an in-house sub, he'll share scrims with [Richard "Rikara" Samuel Oh]," Gold Coin United head coach Yoonsup "Locodoco" Choi told ESPN in a statement.
"We still have full trust in Rikara that he'll be a great ADC at the end of this year, but with [the League Championship Series] promotion match coming up soon, we want to take pressure off of Rikara to allow him to develop further and Mash adds another strong voice to the team," Locodoco added. "I'm excited to work with him, and I know both ADs will help each other develop further."
Mash is the sixth roster addition to the team after it finalized its starting five several weeks ago. The team first added Colin "Solo" Earnest, Lucas "Santorin" Tao Kilmer Larsen, Kim "FeniX" Jae-hun and Richard "Rikara" Samuel Oh in December following the purchase of NRG Esports' Challenger Series spot. It then later acquired legendary South Korean support Hong "MadLife" Min-gi in late December.
Gold Coin United first launched following the NRG Esports Challenger Series spot purchase with funding from New York real estate titan James Kuhn and his son Jacob. The team then hired Choi to build its lineup and has spent time in South Korea as it prepares for the Challenger Series.