SR David Han: “If you wanna be a Shopify player, a Shopify coach, you’ve gotta show me that you deserve to be here.”
Q: Since you’re at the office, are you already starting operations this early in the year?
David: Yeah, I actually officially started yesterday. So, I haven’t really gotten to know everyone on the team super well yet, but I did kind of introduce myself and say [to the players and coaches], “You’ve gotta prove to me that you deserve to be on the team. If you wanna be a Shopify player, a Shopify coach, you’ve gotta show me that you deserve to be here.”
Q: Is this a GM position for League, or for every title?
David: Just for League […] I think most LCS organizations, the GM maybe handles a little bit more, [but focuses on LCS].
Q: From a fan POV, this might feel early to bring in a GM — since the Summer roster is already locked. Is 2027 your primary focus still?
David: Well, like I said, I’m already working very closely with the team. The season ends in November, so there’s basically only three months until the offseason starts, and most teams start thinking about next year during the season — like at Cloud9, for example, we would discuss [the offseason] starting, maybe, in Q3.
Also, I think a lot of teams no longer have a dedicated team manager; the GM fills that role. I’ll be [doing that] here as well.
Q: Can you talk about why you chose to move on from C9?
David: Well, first, I want to say I’m very grateful for my time at C9. We won 2022 Summer and 2023 Spring together, and I’m really grateful to the people there — like Jack, especially, and everyone else. I was able to grow a lot as a person — I was there for four years — and I learned a lot about League, and about competition.
I just felt, you know, after Arizona … that it was time for a change in career, or in focus, for me personally. I thought I needed a change, so … yeah. And I think there’s a lot that I can help build here at Shopify. They’ve only been in the LCS since 2024, and I think I can help in a lot of [new ways].
Q: I think that makes sense. There’s another side too — why Shopify, beyond the opportunity to grow here. Was it just serendipity? They were looking for a GM and you were looking for a new team?
David: Maybe a little bit, but also … I mean, I think we can agree on this that, to me, Shopify has felt like a lot of lost potential [for the last two years]. I think —
Q: Oh, thank god. I was working my way there, but absolutely.
David: Yeah, I think, from the outside, even when I was at Cloud9, I really wanted Shopify to do well, because it would be great for the NA scene. It was really disappointing, to me, that they weren’t able to [meet their goals]. Last year, I think they got third, or fourth?
Q: Well, looking at those rosters and decisions, a lot of people might not realize that Shopify didn’t have a GM before you. From my understanding, decisions were made more by committee, which led to a roster that many fans have been very critical of. Do you think issues are attributable to that process?
David: I’m not sure that [committee process] is exactly the case, actually. I’m not sure, since I don’t know what happened in the past, but I will say that it’s very common, [across esports] for players to have a strong say in the roster process: “I won’t sign with you unless you sign this player, or unless you [get this coach].” I wouldn’t say it’s usually just the GM’s [decisions].
Q: Still, I think most fans weren’t a fan of the logic that a seemingly top three team last year was strong enough to retain as a 5-man unit for 2026. It’s a decision I was very critical of.
David: Well, the first thing I’ll say is that I think the players on this roster are extremely talented. Some of them have won titles before — like Fudge, Contractz — and even Ceos was very decorated when he was in Brazil. Zinie has been, like, the #1 prospect from the LCK CL for the last couple of years, and I think Bvoy’s been the staple carry for this team, when he’s given the resources to do so.
So I don’t think it was, like, very unreasonable to stick with this roster for this year, but obviously things [have not worked out], and we need to examine that for next year.
Q: Obviously, I’m not gonna ask you to commit to a clean sweep or to sticking with certain players/coaches — since you’ve been clear that everyone still has to prove that they deserve a spot on SR’s 2027 team. Still, do you think there are learnings from how SR handled this offseason, by refusing to make any changes?
David: Well, I will say that if I think the best decision for the roster is a clean sweep, I’ll do a clean sweep. But also, if I think that these five players we have are the best options available for our roster, then I’ll stick with them. It all depends on how the offseason roster decisions [play out].
Q: You left C9 at a really tumultuous juncture. Were you a part of the seven man roster decisions?
David: Yeah, I was there when we made the decision for the seven man roster, and I helped with the contracts for Loki and for Tactical, but I’d already kind of told Jack, you know, “I’m probably not going to be a part of the team moving forward.” But I did go to Korea with the team for their bootcamp, just to help out and keep things [running smoothly].
Q: I think a lot of people might not realize that the reason Shopify is criticized so often is the team’s supposedly deep pockets; it feels like wasted potential. What is the goal with that? How much can SR do?
David: Well, I’d say, to me, sustainable growth is the most important thing. I think some teams, historically, in the LCS, have tried spending a lot for these “super rosters” that don’t really earn them the results they’re looking for, and [that harms the scene overall], because they’re not as invested in upcoming talent or the Tier 2 space. Obviously, teams don’t have Academy rosters anymore, either.
Q: Would C9 count as that, over the past few years?
David: No comment.
Q: I ask because I think it’s interesting — I think a lot of people see a similar gap between spending and achievement at C9 that SR’s had.
David: Well, I don’t think that we really tried to assemble any “superteams” or “super rosters” in the same way — I think those don’t really work out, usually. I don’t think they’re very good for the space, the NA scene, overall.
Q: One big criticism of spending has been a lack of investment in NACL. Since orgs no longer have academy teams, some have minor partnerships with teams, but that’s about it. FLY was looking at an actual, in-person Academy team in NACL this year — and wasn’t able to get it done in the end. Did you hear about that? Is that something SR would look into?
David: I think the pipeline for developing players, from NACL to LCS, is broken, and it has been broken for a while now. It’s really hard for a young player to qualify for the LCS, and now it’s even harder because we only have 8 teams, right?
I definitely want to explore ways that we can invest in helping fix that, to do what’s best for the scene — because that’s what I want most. I really care, as a fan of League in NA, about doing what’s best for the scene, and I think making sure that players can make it to Tier 1 is really important.
But I do think that these partnerships … I’m not sure how useful they are, for the NACL teams. How much value are the NACL teams actually getting out of them? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s super helpful for them to have some access to [scrim vods and coaches], but I don’t know.
Q: Right — a dedicated Academy team would be completely different in terms of impact.
David: Yeah, and, I mean, I’d love to have an Academy team next year. A lot of people think that Shopify has enough money to do it, and that may be true, but there are still budgetary restrictions and concerns. It’s very expensive, you know, to have a full Academy team of players, plus maybe a coach and a manager, in-person here in LA. It’s definitely something we want to think about and consider, but I obviously can’t commit to anything right now.
Q: A lot of LCS teams have a history of relying too heavily on imports, and it seems like the winning formula has been to build around talented NA players in key roles — which usually means taking a risk on developing a rookie, since the experienced resident players are already locked down. Is that a necessary truth right now, for teams?
David: I’m not sure. I do think it’s very important for a team to have very strong NA players, of course, but it’s not so easy as just [picking up NA players] right now. My goal, honestly, is for an NA team to feel like an NA team — and I don’t think I need to explain what that means, really.
It’s going to take some time, though, for the scene to get to that point, so I don’t want to say 100% that we’re going to [build around only NA talent] next year, but I’m more focused on doing things that are more focused on the health of the scene long-term; doing things that are good for NA esports.
Q: What’s the goal for 2027? Are you planning for a “Make First Stand, MSI, and Worlds” type of roster, like LYON, TL, or C9, or a “Develop enough to make Worlds” roster, like FLY?
David: I mean, I think the goal of any Tier 1 esports organization, as a professional team, should be to make it to international — to make it to Worlds. So, of course, our goal is at least to make Worlds next year. [More than that] will depend on how the offseason and the roster construction goes.
Q: We touched on this before, but a lot of the strongest rosters of recent splits have won because they gave young, promising players their first Tier 1 shots on top teams. Can you talk about your role and approach to that for next year?
David: Like I said, I think having a good Academy system does produce good results for teams. For example, C9 had a really good Academy system before it was all shut down, right? And a lot of the players, even now like Blaber, have [come from] that pipeline.
Like I said, I can’t promise anything on whether or not, like, we’re gonna have an Academy team, but I’m going to try my best to be involved in the NACL scene, so that I can make a positive impact on that [front].
Q: Do you think that was a lesson you learned at C9? C9 was, I believe, a big part of pushing for the LCS Academy requirement to be lifted, and, since then, the team hasn’t really met its expectations — a correlation fans have pointed to as a reason to invest in Tier 2.
David: I wouldn’t say it’s because of the lesson I learned at C9 — and I’m not 100% sure that C9 was the driver on that. For me, it mostly stems from my passion for the NA scene. I love the fans, and I love this [space].
I’ve gotta think about what’s best for the scene — and obviously, I’ve gotta think about what’s best for Shopify, but I do think having that pipeline does build a story for the players as well. Being part of Academy, then going to Tier 1, it’s motivating for the players as well — and it’s fun for the fans to just walk that journey together.
Q: Ludwig, a co-owner of SR, has been really into League lately and watches LCS and MSI, and even costreams most SR playoffs matches. Have you considered how that potential source of fandom can factor into 2027 plans, or are those decisions for after the roster’s locked?
David: I mean, I am grateful for that. When the owners and the co-owners are passionate about your team, it does help drive that motivation for staff and players — everyone involved.
Obviously, you know, I do think he gets involved. What I can tell you is that, if the opportunity arises, then I’d love that.
Q: Do you have anything else you’d like to say to SR fans or C9 fans?
David: I mean, I’d like to say to Shopify fans that I’ll do my best to make the team proud. I understand that the decisions I make have — [like] all GMs — the decisions we make have an impact in the scene. I’ll try to make that a positive impact.
To C9 fans, I do want to thank them for the support they’ve given me. I wish the best for C9 and everyone involved — all the players, Jack … That’s it.
Header Image Credit: Shopify Rebellion / Alejandro Enriquez
