Deft (gamer)

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Deft
Deft in 2022
Current team
TeamKT Rolster
RoleAD Carry
GameLeague of Legends
LeagueLCK
Personal information
Name김혁규
(Kim Hyuk-kyu)
Born (1996-10-23) October 23, 1996 (age 27)
Seoul, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
Team history
2013MVP Blue
2014Samsung Blue
2015–2016Edward Gaming
2017–2018KT Rolster
2019–2020DRX[a]
2021Hanwha Life Esports
2022DRX
2023Dplus KIA[b]
2024–presentKT Rolster
Career highlights and awards

Kim Hyuk-kyu (Korean: 김혁규; RR: Gim Hyeok-gyu), better known as Deft (Korean: 데프트), is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for KT Rolster. In 2018, he was selected as one of the torch relay runners for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, alongside his fellow kt Rolster teammates.[1]

He won the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational with Edward Gaming and the 2022 League of Legends World Championship with DRX.

Early life

Deft was born on October 23, 1996, in Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from Sangam Middle School,[2] and dropped out of Mapo High School; Faker of T1 was also a student there at the time.[3][4]

Prior to going professional in 2011, Deft played League of Legends on the North American server;[5] his favourite champion is Jinx.[6] He also used to play Sudden Attack. Deft is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Son Heung-min.[7]

Career

Season 3

On February 18, 2013, Deft joined MVP Blue. The team placed 9–12th place in Champions 2013 Spring and 9–16th place in Champions 2014 Summer.

Season 4

On September 6, 2013, Deft joined Samsung Blue. The team achieved much success in Champions placing respectively, with a standing of 5–8th, 1st and 2nd place in Winter, Spring and Summer Splits. The team qualified for Season 4 World Championship, going into the tournament as favorites. The team ultimately fell at the hands of their sister team, and eventual World Champions, Samsung White in semi-finals. Deft left the team after the Season 4 World Championship.

Season 5

On November 11, 2014, Deft joined EDward Gaming with his former Samsung teammate and World Champion, PawN.

The duo achieved much success in LPL 2015, placing 1st in both Regular Season Splits, qualifying for Season 5 World Championship and winning Spring Split Playoffs, China Regional Qualifier and the first edition of Mid Season Invitational - an international event, where the winners of all major regions are invited to compete between Spring and Summer Splits.

EDward Gaming ultimately fell in their quest of bringing the World Championship to China for the first time in a losing effort against the European Champions, Fnatic in quarter-finals.

Season 6

Deft stayed in EDward Gaming for another year, where the team achieved 2nd and 1st place respectively in Spring and Summer splits, as well as regular season splits.

Deft is the seventh player to reach 1,000 kills in the LPL on August 26, 2016.[8]

The team faced RNG in both finals, in which they lost Spring with 1–3 and won Summer with 3–0.

Deft and EDward Gaming qualified for 2016 World Championship, where they lost 1–3 in quarter-finals against ROX Tigers. Deft went back to Korea after the tournament.

Season 7

On November 30, 2016, Deft joined KT Rolster,[9] along with other players such as former ROX Tigers top laner Smeb, former EDward Gaming mid laner Pawn, and former RNG support Mata,[10] creating a "Super Team Rivalry" against SK Telecom T1.

The teams met in the LCK Spring Split Finals, where KT Rolster fell with 0–3,[11] and LCK Summer Split Semi-Finals, where KT Rolster failed to win again, this time 2–3.[12]

The lost in Summer split pushed the team out of qualifying for the Season 7 World Championship with tournament points, in which KT Rolster had to win the Korea Regional Qualifier in order to make it.

In Regional Finals, KT lost to eventual World Champions, Samsung Galaxy with a score of 0–3.

Season 8

Deft and the rest of KT Rolster decided to remain in the team even after a disappointing season. The team placed 3rd in Spring Split Playoffs and 1st in Summer Split Playoffs, where they defeated the rookie sensation team, Griffin, with 3–2, making it Deft's second LCK title.[13]

Deft received the most MVP games in the whole league, but did not win the Spring Split MVP award.

KT Rolster qualified for 2018 League of Legends World Championship, where they lost in an extremely close series to eventual World Champions, Invictus Gaming, with 2–3.[14]

Season 9

On November 25, 2018, Deft joined Kingzone DragonX.[15] The team achieved 3rd place in the Spring Split Playoffs.

He is the ninth player to reach 1,000 kills in the LCK. He achieved his 1,000 kills on March 21, 2019. His 1,000th kill was on kt Rolster Kingen's Aatrox with his Ezreal.[16] He is the first and only player to have reached 1,000 kills in two different regions.

The team collapsed in Summer Split, resulting them to place at 7th in regular season. It was the first time in Deft's career where he missed playoffs.

However, high placing in Spring Split allowed Kingzone DragonX to get a second chance at qualifying for World Championship, but the team ultimately fell in Regional Finals to DAMWON Gaming in a close, 2–3 effort.

Season 10

On October 10, 2019, Kingzone DragonX rebranded as DragonX, and decided to rebuild the team around Deft. The team was completed with rookies such as Pyosik and Keria from DragonX academy, and the Griffin duo Doran and Chovy.

DragonX placed 3rd and 2nd respectively in the LCK Spring and Summer Splits, which qualified them for Mid Season Cup 2020 and Season 10 World Championship.

At Mid Season Cup, DRX placed tied for 2nd in the group with a 2–1 record, but lost both tie-breaker games.

The team lost the LCK Summer Season Finals against Damwon Gaming with a match score of 0–3.

At World Championship, DRX lost again in the quarter-finals to the eventual World Champions Damwon Gaming with a match score of 0–3.[17]

Season 11

On November 23, 2020, Deft joined Hanwha Life Esports.[18]

The team struggled for most of the Spring Split, but managed to get 3rd place in LCK Spring Split Playoffs.

On February 4, 2021, Deft won his 300th game in the LCK.[19] His 300th win was against Afreeca Freecs.

On March 14, 2021, Deft became the third player to have played 500 games in the LCK. He won his 500th game against Liiv SANDBOX.[20][21]

In Summer, the struggles piled up even more and the team placed 8th in LCK Summer Split, the lowest place Deft achieved since 2013.

However, a high standings placement in Spring Split let HLE get a second chance at qualifying for the 2021 World Championship, where the team went on a "miracle run" winning 2 series in a row from the lowest placement in the bracket in the Regional Finals. They first defeated Liiv SANDBOX with a set score of 3–1,[22] then swept Nongshim Redforce with a set score of 3–0, allowed them to grab the final seat for World Championship.[23] In the match against T1 to determine the 4th seed, they lost with a set score of 2–3, and was placed second in the Regional Finals.[24]

Second place allowed Deft and his team to qualify for the World Championship, this time as the lowest LCK seed having to start the competition from The Play-In Tournament. HLE placed 2nd in Play-Ins and managed to make it to the quarter-finals, where they eventually met T1 again, in a losing effort 0–3.[25]

On December 4, 2021, DRX announced that Deft would be joining them for the upcoming season.[26]

Season 12

Deft and his team struggled with 3 consecutive losses at the beginning of the split. They gained their first win of the split in the match against Kwangdong Freecs.[27]

In February 2022, Deft has reached 3,000 career kills milestone, he is the first and so far only player to reach that amount. Deft is the current all time-kills leader in League of Legends Esports, with Uzi and Faker behind him. He also played his career 1,000th game in the same month, and was the first player to achieve the milestone.[28]

On February 24, 2022, Deft became the second player and the first AD Carry to reach 2,000 kills in the LCK.[29]

He played his 600th LCK games on March 24, 2022.[30]

His team was placed 5th in LCK Spring 2022, after losing to Kwangdong Freecs with a score of 2–3.[31]

Deft and his team was placed 6th in LCK Summer 2022, after losing to Liiv Sandbox with a score of 1–3.[32] On September 4, 2022, Deft and his team successfully secured the last LCK spot to the World Championship after defeating Liiv Sandbox with a match score of 3–2.[33] After going undefeated in play-ins and finishing first in the group stage, DRX reverse swept Edward Gaming, becoming the second team ever to reverse sweep someone at Worlds.[34] Coincidentally, this occurred on his 26th birthday. This became Deft's second time in the semi-finals, with his previous time being 8 years ago during the Season 4 World Championship.

Faker and Deft met as T1 and DRX captains in the World Championship final in the U.S. on November 5, 2022. DRX won the Season 12 World Championship, winning against T1 3–2. Deft was the oldest professional player to win the League of Legends World Championship before Faker broke his record on November 19, 2023.

"The important thing is an unbreakable mind," which was left in an interview with a media outlet by Deft, who defeated T1 at the time and lifted the trophy for the first time in his career, emerged as a buzzword, citing the Korean national soccer team that participated in the Qatar World Cup.[35]

Season 13

On November 24, 2022, Deft joined Damwon Kia.

Damwon Kia, joined by Canna, Kellin and Deft, started LCK Season 13 consisting of TOP: Canna, JG: Canyon, MID: Showmaker, AD: Deft, Sup: Kellin

Both Spring and Summer were in poor form, finishing fifth, but they were in good form in the League of Legends World Championship selection and participated in the League of Legends World Championship as the LCK's fourth seed. Ultimately they were defeated by KT Rolster in their last Swiss Stage match, preventing them to reach the quarterfinals in the Knockout Stage.

Seasons overview

Team Year Domestic Mid-Season Invitational World Championship
League Winter Spring Summer
MVP Blue 2013 Champions — 11th–12th 9th–12th — Did not qualify
Samsung Blue 2014 Champions 5th–8th 1st 2nd 3rd–4th
EDward Gaming 2015 LPL — 1st 4th 1st 5th–8th
2016 LPL 2nd 1st Did not qualify 5th–8th
KT Rolster 2017 LCK 2nd 3rd Did not qualify Did not qualify
2018 LCK 3rd 1st Did not qualify 5th–8th
DRX 2019 LCK 3rd 7th Did not qualify Did not qualify
2020 LCK 3rd 2nd None held[c] 5th–8th
Hanwha Life Esports 2021 LCK 3rd 8th Did not qualify 5th–8th
DRX 2022 LCK 5th 6th Did not qualify 1st
Dplus KIA 2023 LCK 5th 5th Did not qualify 9th–11th
KT Rolster 2024 LCK

Individual awards

  • LPL of the Year Awards 2016 – Most Valuable Player
  • LPL of the Year Awards 2016 – Best AD Carry
  • LCK Spring Split 2020 All-Pro 3rd Team[37]
  • LCK Summer Split 2020 All-Pro 3rd Team[38]
  • LCK Spring Split 2022 All-Pro 3rd Team[39]
  • LCK Awards 2022 - meme of the year

References

  1. ^ "League of Legends: The Olympic Torch Relay with kt Rolster: "Good luck Pyeongchang!"". www.invenglobal.com. January 16, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  2. ^ "중학교 동창, 친한 사이" 양혜지-데프트, 열애설 불거진 이유 보니 (in Korean).
  3. ^ [기획 영상] 충격 실화! '페이커', '데프트'는 같은 고등학교였다. sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  4. ^ Moon, Dae-chan (November 7, 2022). 데프트와 페이커, 동갑내기 전설의 엇갈린 희비 [롤드컵]. Kuki News (in Korean). Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "Nine years running without a break: What drives Deft still?". www.invenglobal.com. May 25, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  6. ^ "League of Legends: 1-Second Interview With KZ Deft: Deft's short advice(?) to amateurs who wanted to become pros!". www.invenglobal.com. April 4, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "League of Legends: KZ Deft: "I've been putting in my everything for the past 6-7 years… If I don't have anything to do the next day, wouldn't my life become so painful?"". www.invenglobal.com. May 23, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "LPL第一个1000击杀外援：EDG羊驼deft-王者荣耀-PVP-电竞虎". pvp.dianjinghu.com. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "KT Rolster signs Deft". InvenGlobal. December 1, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  10. ^ "The most competitive season ever! 2017 LCK will start on January 17". InvenGlobal. December 15, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "SKT T1 Faker: "Will be preparing for MSI as much as we have done for the finals, hope for support"". InvenGlobal. April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "Faker: "Trying to cut my arms off in 'Picks and Bans'? I've prepared a prosthetic arm just in case"". InvenGlobal. August 19, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "[2018 LCK Summer Finals] KT Lifts the LCK Summer Trophy. KT Defeats Griffin 3:2". InvenGlobal. September 8, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  14. ^ "IG TheShy: "I asked the team to give me a pick that I can win my lane for sure with, and that pick happened to be Fiora."". InvenGlobal. October 20, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  15. ^ 고용준. "[오피셜] 원딜 최대어 '데프트' 김혁규, 폰-투신과 함께 킹존서 대권 도전(종합)". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "League of Legends: Deft Reaches 1,000 Kills in the LCK - 9th Player to Reach the Milestone". www.invenglobal.com. March 21, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  17. ^ "[Worlds 2020] DAMWON Gaming sweeps DRX 3-0 in Worlds quarterfinals". InvenGlobal. October 15, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "[단독] '데프트' 김혁규, 한화생명 합류". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  19. ^ "'데프트' 김혁규, 2년 공백에도 LCK 통산 300승 달성". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "HLE Deft hits 500 LCK Games: "Unless I feel that I'm so bad that I can't play anymore, I won't give up."". InvenGlobal. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "[LCK] '데프트' 김혁규의 역사 1500킬, 500전". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  22. ^ "[LCK Today] HLE shuts out LSB 3-1 to end their season; will face NS RedForce to determine final Worlds seeding". InvenGlobal. August 31, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  23. ^ "[LCK Today] Hanwha Life Esports locks in last LCK spot at the 2021 LoL World Championship". InvenGlobal. September 1, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  24. ^ "T1 beat HLE 3-2 to secure Worlds group stage seed, HLE to start in Play-ins". InvenGlobal. September 2, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  25. ^ "[롤드컵] 완벽했다, T1! 한화생명 상대 3:0 승리". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  26. ^ 기자, 윤민섭. "'데프트 리턴' DRX, 2022시즌 리빌딩 결과 공개". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  27. ^ 기자, 윤민섭. "DRX, 광동과 혈전 끝에 뒤늦은 시즌 첫승". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  28. ^ "[LCK 스프링] 5주 차에 세워진 기록들, 9주년부터 1000경기까지". 뉴스컬처(NEWSCULTURE) (in Korean). February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  29. ^ "[LCK 스프링] 쿼드라 킬로 2,000킬 찍은 '데프트'...DRX, 7승 고지". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  30. ^ "[LCK] DRX '데프트' 김혁규, LCK 통산 600전 달성". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  31. ^ "[LCK] 간절했던 광동, 정규 리그 패배 극복하고 승리 (종합)". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  32. ^ "[LCK PO] 51분의 혈전... 리브 샌드박스, 낭만 역전승으로 2R행". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  33. ^ "DRX Deft: "In our current state, we're not going to beat the top teams at Worlds. We won't make it past quarters."". InvenGlobal. September 3, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  34. ^ Garcia, Ethan (October 24, 2022). "Deft advances to first Worlds semifinals with DRX after reverse sweep". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  35. ^ Joohwan, Kim (January 10, 2023). "'중꺾마' 데프트 "한국서 열리는 롤드컵, 높은 자리까지 가겠다"" ['Junkopma' Deft "Rolled Cup to be held in Korea, going to the high seat."]. 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  36. ^ Rand, Emily (April 23, 2020). "Riot cancels Mid-Season Invitational, announces changes to worlds". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  37. ^ "2020 우리은행 LCK 스프링, LCK Awards 수상자 발표 - 리그 오브 레전드". www.leagueoflegends.com (in Korean). April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  38. ^ "LoL Esports". lolesports.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  39. ^ "LoL Esports". lolesports.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.

Notes

  1. ^ Known as KING-ZONE DragonX in 2019.
  2. ^ Known as DWG KIA from January 2021 to January 2023.
  3. ^ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36]

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by League of Legends World Championship winner
2022
With: Kingen, Pyosik, Zeka, Deft, BeryL 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
New championship
 Mid-Season Invitational winner
2015 		Succeeded by