FunPlus Phoenix have announced Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić as the new head coach of their VALORANT esports division.
The 34-year-old strategist joins FunPlus Phoenix as a free agent, having been without a team since leaving his coaching position at ENTERPRISE Esports in May.
LEGIJA is a well-known name in the esports world, primarily for his lengthy nine-year involvement in the Counter-Strike scene.
The Serb started off as a CS player before transitioning to coaching in 2018. He has since led Team Envy and BIG, whom he led to the playoffs of FACEIT Major London 2018.
LEGIJA’s journey in Counter-Strike came to an end in November 2021, when he decided to transition to Riot Games’ first-person shooter title and signed for Bleed Esports as a replacement for Aaron “Eno” Cheah.
In his debut year as a VALORANT coach in 2023, LEGIJA led Bleed Esports to victory in both splits of VALORANT Challengers Malaysia & Singapore and VCT Ascension Pacific 2023 to book a spot on the VALORANT Champions Tour.
LEGIJA’s stint with Bleed had an unfortunate ending, however, as they struggled to perform at the highest level and were eventually removed from VCT Pacific for failing to comply with Riot’s requirements, which included issues with unpaid salaries.
He returned to the VALORANT scene at the start of this season with Enterprise Esports, with whom he won VALORANT Challengers 2025 NORTH//EAST Stage 2, but left before the start of VALORANT Challengers 2025 EMEA Stage 2.
By signing LEGIJA, FunPlus Phoenix will hope to bounce back after a rough start to the year, having finished fifth-sixth in VCT Kickoff and 9th-10th in VCT China Stage 1.
After missing both VALORANT Majors, the Chinese squad’s only chance to qualify for an international event is to win VCT 2025 China Stage 2, scheduled to kick off on July 3.
