Deft is reportedly coming back to the LCK.
Sheep Esports reports that Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu is set to join Nongshim RedForce for the 2027 season of League of Legends Champions Korea.
The move would follow his mandatory military service in South Korea. It would also bring a world champion AD carry back to Korea’s top league after a long break.
Nothing is official yet. Neither Nongshim RedForce nor Deft has confirmed the deal.
A long list of trophies
Deft started his career in 2013 with MVP Blue, which later became Samsung Blue. He won the 2014 OGN Champions Spring title with the team. He also reached the semifinals of Worlds that year.
In 2015, he moved to China to play for EDward Gaming. He won the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational there, with EDG beating SK Telecom T1 in the final. He also won LPL titles in 2015 Spring and 2016 Summer.
He returned to Korea in 2017 with KT Rolster and won LCK Summer in 2018. He then played for Kingzone DragonX (later renamed DRX) and Hanwha Life Esports, reaching the Worlds quarterfinals in 2018, 2020, and 2021.
His biggest moment came in 2022. Back on DRX, he entered Worlds as Korea’s fourth seed and started in the play-in stage. DRX then beat EDG, Gen.G, and finally T1, winning the final three–two.
It was Deft’s first world title, about nine years after his pro debut.
He spent 2023 with Dplus KIA, which went out in the Swiss stage at Worlds. In 2024, he returned to KT for one more season.
