Turkish-based esports organisation PCIFIC Esports has announced a significant change to its coaching staff ahead of its next match in the VCT EMEA Kickoff.
Announced by the team through an official statement, head coach Metin Kaan ‘Leader‘ Taşpınar has requested to leave the team temporarily and head back to Turkey due to family and personal reasons.
While the reason behind the temporary leave was not disclosed, the team will now be led by assistant coach Manuel ‘thinkii‘ Martínez. He has been confirmed to be the head coach for the upcoming match against ULF Esports, which will take place later today at 20:00 CET (19:00 BST).
A Tough Start for PCIFIC
After finishing second at the end of Ascension in 2025, PCIFIC earned a spot in VCT alongside ULF Esports for 2026. During the offseason, the Turkish organisation rebuilt its roster from the ground up, after BBL Esports picked up its players from the 2025 line-up.
As a result, PCIFIC picked up Felix ‘al0rante‘ Brandl, Mehmet ‘cNed‘ Yağız İpek, Patryk ‘NINJA‘ Koczyba, Mateja ‘qpert‘ Mijović, and Johann ‘seven‘ Hernandez.
Aside from cNed, who is a known face in the scene and won the VALORANT Champions in 2021 with Acend, the rest of the team consists of players who previously competed in the tier-two scene.
Despite delivering good performances in the opening matches, PCIFIC is now on the brink of elimination after losing two series to BBL Esports and GIANTX. Its match against ULF Esports will determine whether the team’s first split will come to an end.
Even though Leader is temporarily stepping away, PCIFIC will count on thinkii’s experience to keep its run alive. Having started as a player in 2021 for KPI Gaming, thinkii moved to a coaching role in 2022, helping out several teams in the VALORANT Challengers League in Spain, such as Arctic, Team Queso, and UCAM.
Last year, he joined as an assistant coach for BBL Esports in the summer, contributing to the team’s third-place finish in VCT EMEA Stage 2.
