Gen.G Esports has announced the return of Kim ‘Lakia’ Jong-min to the organisation’s VALORANT roster.
During his previous tenure at Gen.G, the Korean player helped secure second place at Masters Madrid 2024 as well as winning Masters Shanghai 2024.
Lakia is a veteran in the Korean VALORANT esports scene with over four years of competitive experience. In 2020, the former Counter-Strike player made his transition to Riot Games’ new shooter as part of the iconic Vision Strikers squad, which was later acquired by DRX.
Together with the likes of Kim ‘MaKo’ Myeong-kwan and Yu ‘BuZz’ Byung-chul, Lakia attended Masters Berlin 2021 and finished 3rd at Masters Reykjavík in the same year. In October 2023, the player joined Gen.G for the first time and went on to win Masters Shanghai and VCT 2024: Pacific Stage 2.
However, both Lakia and Masters Bangkok 2025 winner Kim ‘Meteor’ Tae-oh departed the organisation during the off-season. While Meteor moved to fellow Korean team T1, Lakia struggled with a wrist injury.
After focusing on esports consulting for a year, Lakia revealed in June that he was looking for competitive opportunities again.
His second signing with Gen.G also reunites the player with his 2023 teammates Kim ‘t3xture’ Na-ra and Kim ‘Karon’ Won-tae to form the following lineup:
- Byeon ‘Munchkin’ Sang-beom
- Jung ‘Foxy9’ Jae-sung
- Ha ‘Ash’ Hyun-cheol
- Kim ‘t3xture’ Na-ra
- Kim ‘Karon’ Won-tae
- Kim ‘Lakia’ Jong-min
So far, it is unclear if Lakia will make his VCT comeback next week and whose place he would replace on Gen.G’s active roster.
“I don’t know what will happen, but I’ll do my best,” commented the VALORANT athlete on his personal social media.
Gen.G’s VCT Run in 2025
Gen.G has fielded VALORANT rosters since 2020 and was picked up as a VCT Pacific Partner Team at the beginning of franchising in 2023.
Although the team has failed to claim another tier-one trophy since last year, it displayed an impressive performance during the Masters Toronto 2025 Swiss Stage in June.
Known for its prowess with the Viper-Omen team comp, Gen.G currently sits at the top of Group Alpha in VCT Pacific Stage 2’s Group Stage. Its next match will take place on August 8th at 9 am BST against Nongshim RedForce.
