Son “Mickey” Young-min has returned to Korea.
Mickey signed with League of Legends Champions Korea team APK Prince today, a month after parting ways with the LEC’s Excel Esports.
Excel Esports had an underwhelming season in Europe, placing seventh in the league. Mid laner Mickey had moments of brilliance throughout the Spring Split and was one of the redeeming factors of the five-man lineup, but he inevitably fell short of reaching the team’s goals of making the playoffs. In the end, Mickey, and Korean comrade Ki “Expect” Dae-han were cut from the team.
APK Prince are the newest team to join the LCK after they won the promotion tournament in September 19 and sent Jin Air Green Wings back to the league beneath it, Challengers Korea.
Mickey will now look to improve on APK Prince’s debut performance in the LCK and contend with the top teams in the league.
Mickey played for APK Prince for a short stint back in 2018, when the team was competing in Korea’s second division league, Challengers Korea. The majority of the lineup has since been replaced, but former teammates Kim “Trigger” Eui-joo and Park “Secret” Ki-sun have remained with the team.
APK Prince finished seventh in the 2020 LCK Spring Split with a 6-12 record, ahead of Hanhwa Life Esports, SANDBOX Gaming, and Griffin. Despite missing out on the playoffs, the team surpassed expectations and performed admirably for their rookie split. It remains to be seen if Mickey will be an upgrade on the roster.
APK’s first split has looked quite bad. Even though they’ve upset a couple of teams, they’ve failed to find consistency and pick up wins with coordinated gameplay. The rookies lack shotcalling experience as seen in the replays, and their communication is chaotic.
Going forward, multiple LCK teams have upgraded their rosters, and APK’s changes might not be enough to improve their standings. But it’s always worth a try considering the mid laner of APK has looked lackluster in the previous split. They were close to reach playoffs, but his gameplay has dragged the team down towards the end.
Mickey played for APK Prince for a short stint back in 2018, when the team was competing in Korea’s second division league, Challengers Korea. The majority of the lineup has since been replaced, but former teammates Kim “Trigger” Eui-joo and Park “Secret” Ki-sun have remained with the team.
The LCK Summer Split kicks off on Wednesday, June 17.
