Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #5 Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) KiTae Park Ki-tae (박기태) stand-in Ash Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) has announced the signing of former player Kim "Lakia" Jong-min (김종민), reuniting a fourth member of the squad that lifted the Masters Shanghai trophy last year.

Lakia returns to Gen.G after spending the 2024 season with the organization, a season that saw the Korean Tigers lift the Pacific region's first-ever international trophy in Shanghai. Following the season, Lakia departed Gen.G as a free agent alongside Meteor , who is now competing for T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) .

At the start of the offseason, Lakia revealed that he was receiving treatment for a wrist injury, and pursued other options such as consulting. In June 2025, Lakia announced his recovery from the injury and intention to return to VCT.

Since Lakia's departure at the end of last year, Gen.G has made two attempts to replace his role. The organization brought on current Global Esports Global Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #9 PatMen Patrick Mendoza UdoTan Go Kyung-won (고경원) Kr1stal Savva Fedorov xavi8k Xavier Juan Autumn Kale Dunne player yoman to start the year, but then moved to Gen.G Global Academy Gen.G Global Academy Korea Rank #9 Raxcal Kim Min-seok (김민석) Fric Jeon Jae-hyeok (전재혁) Sovereign Kim Do-hyun (김도현) RgoN Yong Seung-hyeon (용승현) player Ash . The squad has seen improved performances with Ash in the squad, finishing second in Pacific Stage 1, which was followed by a top-six finish at Masters Toronto. However, Gen.G's 2025 results have been a far cry from 2024, when they lifted three trophies, including one on the international stage, and reached two Masters grand finals.

Lakia's return also comes shortly after Gen.G parted ways with Suggest , who filled the team's Sentinel role for a brief time in Stage 1 before being replaced by his predecessor, Foxy9 .

Lakia's second stint with Gen.G is preceded by a five-year career with some of Korean Valorant's most well-known squads. Since making his debut with PROPARTY PROPARTY Inactive allow Park Sang-wook (박상욱) Suggest Seo Jae-young (서재영) peri Jung Bum-ki (정범기) solo Kang Geun-chul (강근철) Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) / NUTURN NUTURN Inactive in 2020, Lakia has played for Vision Strikers Vision Strikers Inactive stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Zest Kim Ki-seok (김기석) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) , Kiwoom DRX Kiwoom DRX Korea Rank #3 Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) yong Kim Ho-yong (김호용) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) , and Dplus Esports Dplus Esports Korea Rank #8 Kally Kim Dong-wook (김동욱) Ramgi Woo Jyun-huk (우준혁) shu Yoon Si-hoo (윤시후) JaXe Shin Jae-young (신재영) CabezA No Gun-hyung (노건형) . With the PROPARTY core, which later turned into NUTURN, Lakia played alongside current Gen.G coaches solo and peri , competing on the world stage at Masters Reykjavik. Lakia also competed at Masters Berlin and Champions 2021 that year with Vision Strikers before moving to Japanese side IGZIST IGZIST Japan Rank #9 popogachi Souta Morita Frxeez oitaN Masayuki Takahashi kAyle Jung Soo-yong (정수용) SID Kim Min-seung (김민승) ahead of the 2022 season.

In 2023, Lakia made his return to home soil with Dplus, enjoying a successful year in the Korean Challengers circuit, which earned the team a spot at Pacific Ascension. Placed in the same group as eventual grand finalists BLEED BLEED Inactive and SCARZ SCARZ Japan Rank #8 Art Koki Kagami gray9 Gwangboong Kim Gwang-won (김광원) muto Medusa An Min-cheol (안민철) , Dplus was eliminated in the group stage.

Throughout his career, Lakia has been most well-known as an Initiator player, with Sova, Skye, and Fade his most-played agents. This collides with academy product Ash's agent pool, and may see Gen.G experiment with different looks as they prepare for the tail end of competition in Pacific Stage 2 and eventually Champions Paris.

With the Lakia of Valorant returning to Gen.G, the tiger nation's full roster is now:

  • Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom (변상범)
  • Jung "Foxy9" Jae-sung (정재성)
  • Ha "Ash" Hyun-cheol (하현철)
  • Kim "t3xture" Na-ra (김나라)
  • Kim "Karon" Won-tae (김원태)
  • Kim "Lakia" Jong-min (김종민)
  • Kang "solo" Geun-chul (강근철) (Head coach)
  • Kim "HSK" Hae-seong (김해성) (Coach)
  • Jung "peri" Bum-ki (정범기) (Coach)