The baby bird has left the nest. This is a perfect connection to Jungyoung ‘Loki’ Park and his relationship with Gen.G. This past week it was announced that Loki would be leaving the organization. This hit hard as Loki has been a household name to any fans who have followed Gen.G PUBG. He has helped the team win multiple first places and top finishes in multiple tournaments. What is even bigger is how integral Loki has been as the rock in the PUBG squad as well as Gen.G as a brand.
The Beginning
Loki though he has been on the team since the early days it wasn’t the beginning. The first iterations of the PUBG team were when the organization was still branded KSV AseL. That was built around two of the older Overwatch players Injae ‘EscA’ Kim as well as Jaejuun ‘LeeTaeJun’ Lee. When that didn’t work out, the organization shifted to KSV CLES, the second iteration of the PUBG squad. That was when Loki first appeared in 2018 alongside Minki ‘Chelator’ Kim to the two remaining AseL players. He came in as a fragger for the team to be teamed up with captain EscA.
Loki was the maknae of the group, but showed great potential in-game. His integration was a big aspect as the popular Lee Tae Jun had left the team. He was a new face at the time, and no one yet knew he would be the one that would continue the legacy on throughout the years.
Loki Gen.G Legacy
It is easy enough to go through all the awards and top prizes that Loki had earned, which is many with Gen.G. Loki was the champion many times and pulled up in many critical situations. But is harder to see with all the numbers and lists that can be found on websites is his growth as an individual. He went from the bright new talent from 2018 who was under bigger names such as EscA to now in 2021 where he is now the big name. Loki left Gen.G as a veteran of the team and lead the squad through the multiple roster switches. He was a Tiger and always will be. Loki was one of the original players from the KSV days until the current day and became a recognizable face to Tiger Nation fans.
As PUBG is not as popular, he didn’t get as much attention as other players in different esport games. That didn’t stop him. He has a massive personality that can be seen in his social media posts along with content that was made around the PUBG team. If he had been a part of a more popular esport he could’ve been the face of the organization.
Loki may not be known to many overseas fans, other than his appearance in the Nationals Cup in 2019 as a South Korean representative he would not pop up in the North American streams much. But he is a great talent in his teamwork and pure fragging abilities. The rotations and clutch Chicken Dinners made him a well-respected name in the scene.
Loki Leaving
This sadness is two-sided. It feels as if one of the original remnants of the KSV that was still at Gen.G has left. But it also shows the growth that Loki has achieved. He has won so many titles for Gen.G within multiple iterations of the roster. There are no harsh feelings as he posted a heartfelt response to his fans on Instagram with a supportive message by Gen.G left underneath.
He has for so long been associated with Gen.G. In the next tournament in which Loki is talked about, the first response is going to be get excited for a Gen.G clutch before realizing he is now with Damwon. His next chapter is going to be with Damwon Gaming, who so far hasn’t had any first-place finishes yet. It is time for Loki to stretch his wings and show everyone that he can be that player to get wins not just with Gen.G but also on his own.
This is a relationship, no doubt, that will come up again in the future. Reminiscent of Jehong ‘Ryujehong’ Ryu and Gen.G’s relationship. Tiger Nation is cheering Loki on in his future tournaments with Damwon and is excited to see his continual growth in the esport world.
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