by REJECT, the Japanese esports organization, have announced they will be parting ways with their Rainbow Six coach, Naoya “Pep” Satou. Pep’s contract with the team has expired, and they are unwilling to re-sign him.
REJECT made the announcement via their official Twitter page. They thanked him for his contribution in the short time he was with the team.
“This time, the contract with Pep coach (@SBpepper_) has expired and we are leaving the team. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Pep Coach for his contribution to REJECT and wish him all the best in the future,” the tweet read.
News of Pep’s dismissal came as a shock, especially as REJECT are thriving in the 2022 Rainbow Six Asia-Pacific North League Stage 2. They are currently ranked third behind DAMWON Gaming and SANDBOX Gaming with three wins and a loss.
Although Pep’s start to his coaching career with REJECT did not start on a good note, he has since picked things up. He was hired after they secured promotion to APAC North, and helped the team improve on the basics.
Pep joined REJECT in March, and has set the team on an upward trajectory. Although they finished last in Stage 1, they managed a second-place finish in the 2022 FAV Cup.
REJECT has also mustered some decent results recently under his leadership, finishing as quarter finalists in the 2022 Japan League Season 1 playoffs.
Pep has spoken since his contract expiry and has nothing but support for the team. He recounted the short period with the team and how it has impacted him.
“In the beginning, it was only for a short period of three or four months, but everyone took care of us. It was a blink of an eye to start my career with FAVCUP and RJLplayoffstage2. It was also my first international tournament in APAC and it was a three-month period in which I was able to grow both as a team and as an individual,” he said.
“The most memorable match was the match against T1 in APAC. Although we lost the relegation match, we were confident that we could win, so we went ahead with the map van to get revenge in the same Oregon as the replacement match. The match was 5:5 and we were able to win the match with the players’ strong feelings about winning.”
The former coach also believes they will achieve more success this year.
“During the period I was there, we mainly worked as a team to improve the foundation. From now on, I think we will enter a period where we will master the power of Siege. As a result, we are in better shape than the previous season, as you can see. REJECT will go to the world during this year. Let’s all witness that moment together,” he said.
REJECT has three more playdays before the end of Stage 2. If they manage a top-two finish, they will get direct seeding to the Rainbow Six Berlin Major per Ubisoft’s new format.
By August 27, we will know for sure if REJECT were able to continue their impressive start to Stage 2 without Pep. Their next match is on July 11 against the top-seeded DAMWON, who are $1.37 head-to-head favorites with GG Bet.
