VALORANT : Lakia Rejoins Gen.G Valorant as Sixth Player

Gen.G Esports has officially welcomed Kim “Lakia” Jong-min back to its VALORANT roster as the team's sixth player. The organisation announced Lakia’s return on 4 August 2025 with a celebratory "Welcome back, Lakia!" post on X, marking the 22-year-old South Korean star's second stint with the South Korean powerhouse. He last wore the Gen.G jersey at VALORANT Champions 2024, where the team was eliminated in the group stage, nearly a year ago.

He is a household name in Korean Valorant and is revered for his time with top teams such as NUTURN Gaming, Vision Strikers/DRX, IGZIST, and Dplus KIA. He first rose to international prominence in 2021, helping NUTURN to secure a historic third-place finish at the VCT Masters Reykjavik tournament, the first global VALORANT event. Following further stints in Japan and Korea, Lakia joined Gen.G in late 2023 as part of the organisation's rebuild for the VCT Pacific franchised league.

During his first stint at Gen.G in 2024, Lakia played the initiator role, playing a key part in the team's unprecedented success. The South Korean club clinched multiple titles that year, including the VCT Pacific Kickoff, the Pacific Stage 2 Playoffs, and the Masters Shanghai championship, the first international trophy won by a team from the Pacific region.

They also achieved runner-up positions at the Masters Madrid tournament and the Pacific Stage 1 Playoffs, establishing Gen.G as one of the world’s leading teams in 2024. However, their season ended on a disappointing note at the 2024 Valorant Champions tournament, where Gen.G fell in the group stage, placing 9th–12th. Following this, the organisation announced Lakia's departure as a free agent, alongside star duelist Meteor, who joined T1. This brought an end to Lakia's first stint with Gen.G.