Season 2026 will start in a few weeks, and with it, one new year of pro play. In 2025, Riot tried introducing Fearless Draft, which turned out to be a unanimous success. In 2026, the LCK and the LCP will do a trial run of a new format for one split, Coach Comms.
Coach Comms allows the coaches to communicate with their players during the game, not just in champ select. What is the purpose of this format? How will it work? What can we expect? Find all about Coach Comms here.
In regular pro play, the five players are on stage, with one or two coaches standing behind them for preparation and champ select. During champ select, they’re allowed to communicate. Afterwards, the coaches leave and go backstage when the players load into the game.
In game, all communication devices and apps are banned. Players are only allowed to talk to each other.
Instead, with Coach Comms:
KT about to play in the LCK lower finals, with their coaches standing behind them. Image Source: Riot Games
This feature tries to emulate what physical team sports do, where the coach sits on the side and has ways to talk or signal things to the players. In fact, Coach Comms should indeed increase the quality of play.
When focused in the game, players can easily get too absorbed and overlook things or forget the game plan. Someone who’s outside the game can intervene to give ideas with a cool head. It’s easy to imagine the coach being able to:
The result that Riot aims for is games of higher quality, more exciting for the viewers. Truthfully, it does look promising! Coach Comms might be able to address the long-standing issues of quite a few teams (including all the Western ones).
There’s also strategy involved, and room for growth. There’s only 3 activations available – when will teams use them? Do they favor the early game, the mid game? Do they want to keep one available just in case? Can they avoid wasting an activation just before a fight breaks out and the team has no room to listen?
Unfortunately, over a single split and only two regions, the growth might not get to show much, for now.
Gen.G and KT stand in front of the crowd in Incheon before playing the LCK 2025 Lower Finals. Image Source: Riot Games
Short answer: Less than from Fearless Draft, for sure. Even though they’ve most likely already started practicing in scrims, teams won’t know how to optimally make use of the feature right away. As a result, the benefits won’t be as big as they might be later on.
Second, the impact on the game won’t be very noticeable for the viewers. Coach Comms won’t be broadcasted, so whether it had an effect will be up to the viewers’ guesses. There will be overreaction, that much is certain.
On the other hand, Coach Comms won’t have major downsides. Since it doesn’t pause the game, the viewers’ experience won’t be diminished. The one drawback is that it takes away some existing skill expression, but it creates other skill expression in return.
Unlike Fearless Draft, Coach Comms will not be featured at First Stand. This is a trial run, and if it works well, Riot could extend it to other regions for the next split. Internationals can’t use it yet, though, as two regions would then get an unfair advantage from their extra experience.
Besides the basics of how the feature works, here’s the official FAQ on its rules:
| Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| How many coaches can use Coach Comms? | Teams have to nominate one member of their coaching staff before the game begins to participate in Coach Comms. Teams can only switch nominees after each game ends. |
| Is Coach Comms mandatory? | No. Coach Comms is optional, and teams may choose whether to use it. Teams must confirm their decision before the game begins, and cannot change this decision once the game has loaded. |
| Will Coach Comms be introduced in all leagues? | Coach Comms will only be piloted for a short period in the LCK and LCP. It will not be used at global events or other regional leagues for now. |
| Does Coach Comms cause a pause in the game? | No. Coach Comms is conducted without a pause, and the flow of the game is maintained at all times. |
| Will the opposing team know when Coach Comms is used? | No. Opposing teams will not be directly notified when Coach Comms is activated. |
| What information can coaches see during Coach Comms? | The nominated coach can only see the same team POV that players see. Opponent information and all-game spectator modes are not provided. |
| Can coaches communicate externally during Coach Comms? | No. The use of external communication devices is strictly prohibited during live games. |
| Where must coaches be located during a match? | Nominated coaches using Coach Comms must remain in the designated Coach Comms area. They must enter the area once draft concludes and cannot leave after the game begins. If they must leave due to unavoidable reasons (e.g. restroom), they cannot return until the game concludes. |
| Can coaches leave the area after using all Coach Comms opportunities? | Yes. Coaches who have exhausted all Coach Comms opportunities for the game may freely leave the designated area. |
| Will Coach Comms audio be used on the broadcast? | Coach Comms audio will not be played during broadcast. |
We will keep watch over how Coach Comms is received, and will update on the future Riot gives it.
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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