Kublai “Kubz” Barlas has announced his retirement and departure from Golden Guardians after 9 years of coaching. The Canadian has coached for teams in Europe and North America over his tenure. He has directed main teams as well as developing talent in the academy system. Most recently, Kubz was the coach of Golden Guardians Academy and bowed out as the team went into the Grand Finals of the 2021 Spring Giant Slay Gauntlet, following a five-game win streak in the lower bracket.
Kubz through the years
Kubz started his coaching journey in 2014 on the North American team Complexity and its many iterations. After the team lost its NA LCS spot due to relegation in the same year, he took his talents to the amateur scene. Kubz worked with multiple European and North American teams, like Cloud9 and Copenhagen Wolves Academy, before landing with Fnatic. He was an assistant coach for the LCS roster while also working as the head coach for Fnatic Academy.
After leading the team to an LEC promotion slot, which was sold to Ninjas in Pajamas, Kubz detailed his journey in The Players’ Lobby with an article about people’s perceptions of him. In the piece, and his twitter announcement, he credited Fnatic Academy and its players for giving a second chance and revitalizing his career as a coach.
He also thanked players from his stint as the head coach of Giants Gaming in the 2018 EU LCS Summer Split. Kubz had to leave Europe after that split thanks to the LEC rebrand as the Giants Gaming organizations was not accepted in the now-franchised league. He returned to North America where he coached the newly acquired OpTic Academy and Immortals Academy as the brand transitioned to new ownership.
In 2020 Kubz left the team and the region to explore his options in Europe, hoping to join an LEC team. He ended up leading a French league squad for a short stint before returning to LCS Academy with Golden Guardians. Kubz has had a long career as a coach in League of Legends and has had always had a focus on developing players and teamwork.
