In 2013, the year he turned 17, he played his debut match at the LoL Club Masters with MVP Blue, and the team won the tournament. In 2014, the team, renamed Samsung Galaxy Blue, won its first Champions Spring title. That autumn it lost to its sister team Samsung White in the Worlds semifinals, and Samsung White won the tournament. After the season he moved to Edward Gaming (EDG) in China.
In 2015, he beat SK Telecom T1 with EDG to win the Mid-Season Invitational, but lost to Fnatic in the Worlds quarterfinals. In 2016, he won the LPL Summer season, and at the end of the year returned to Korea and signed with KT Rolster.
In 2017, KT lost the Champions Spring final to SK Telecom T1 and finished second. In 2018, he beat Griffin in the Champions Summer final with KT to win the title, but lost to Invictus Gaming in the Worlds quarterfinals. After the season he signed with Kingzone DragonX.
In 2019, he was picked for the LCK team with Kingzone DragonX and won Rift Rivals, the LCK’s first title at the event. In 2020, he lost to Damwon Gaming in the Worlds quarterfinals with DRX, and after the season signed with Hanwha Life Esports. In 2021, he reached 300 career LCK wins but lost to T1 in the Worlds quarterfinals. After the season he returned to DRX after one year.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 26, he reached 2,000 career LCK kills, and in November beat T1 in the Worlds final in San Francisco to win his first Worlds title. Born in 1996, he became the oldest champion in Worlds history.
In 2023, he went from Dplus KIA back to KT Rolster after five years. In 2024, KT held a send-off event before his military enlistment.
In 2025, he enlisted in the military. In 2026, he was named a performance analyst for the national LoL team at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games while serving as an active-duty soldier.
Deft (born Oct 23, 1996) debuted on Feb 23, 2013, the year he turned 17, at the LoL Club Masters with MVP Blue, and became known on Nov 6, 2022, the year he turned 26, when he won his first Worlds title with DRX. He enlisted in the military in 2025, the year he turned 29.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
The LoL Club Masters, which he entered with MVP Blue, was his debut tournament, and he won it.
Source 01 · Fomos (Korean) · Deft and Ephram interview · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Fomos (Korean) · Three things the Club Masters left behind · opens in a new tab The date is that of the final; the date of his debut match was not confirmed.Beat Najin Shield 3-1 in the final for the team’s first title since its founding. The team had been renamed from MVP Blue to Samsung Galaxy Blue.
Source 03 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Samsung Galaxy Blue wins the title · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Deft · opens in a new tab How the team came to be renamed is based on Wikipedia.Lost 0-3 to Samsung White and went out in the semifinals. Samsung White won the tournament.
Source 04 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Samsung White’s third straight rout · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Fomos (Korean) · Rumors of Samsung’s LoL team moving to China · opens in a new tabLeft Samsung Galaxy Blue and signed with Edward Gaming of China’s LPL.
Source 06 · Fomos (Korean) · Entire Samsung dynasty heads to China · opens in a new tabAfter winning the LPL Spring title, beat SK Telecom T1 3-2 in the final of the Mid-Season Invitational.
Source 07 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · EDG takes the MSI 2015 throne · opens in a new tabSource 08 · Digital Times (Korean) · 2015 LoL MSI · opens in a new tabSource 09 · Kyunghyang Games (Korean) · Damwon Kia signs Deft · opens in a new tab The date of the LPL Spring final was not confirmed.Lost 0-3 to Fnatic in the Worlds quarterfinals and went out.
Source 10 · Daily eSports (Korean) · Even PawN is eliminated · opens in a new tab In local time it was Oct. 17.Won the LPL Summer season with EDG.
Source 09 · Kyunghyang Games (Korean) · Damwon Kia signs Deft · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Deft · opens in a new tab The date of the final and the opponent were not confirmed.Came back to Korea after his time in China and signed with KT Rolster. He joined with PawN (Heo Won-seok) and Mata (Cho Se-hyeong) to form a super team.
Source 11 · Fomos (Korean) · KT in the transfer market, Deft and Mata · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Deft · opens in a new tab The exact contract date was not confirmed. Wikipedia gives Dec. 1.Lost 0-3 to SK Telecom T1 in the final and finished second.
Source 12 · Star News (Korean) · SKT wins LoL Champions Spring 2017 · opens in a new tabBeat Griffin 3-2 in the final to win the title.
Source 13 · Gamemeca (Korean) · 2018 LoL Champions Summer final · opens in a new tabLost 2-3 to Invictus Gaming in the quarterfinals at BEXCO in Busan and went out. It was the first Worlds since Korean teams began taking part in 2012 in which no Korean team reached the semifinals.
Source 14 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · kt out in the Worlds quarterfinals · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Sports Today (Korean) · 2018 Worlds semifinalists set, Korean teams wiped out · opens in a new tabSigned with Kingzone DragonX together with PawN (Heo Won-seok) and others.
Source 16 · Donghaeng Media Sidae (Korean) · Upheaval in the transfer market · opens in a new tab The exact contract date was not confirmed.Played for the LCK and beat the LPL team 3-1 to win. It was the LCK’s first title at the event.
Source 17 · Edaily (Korean) · Rift Rivals 2019 won · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Team LoL column (Korean) · Rift Rivals review · opens in a new tabLost to Damwon Gaming in the Worlds quarterfinals with DRX and went out.
Source 19 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Deft in tears at the Worlds quarterfinals · opens in a new tabHanwha Life Esports announced the signing on its official social media.
Source 20 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Hanwha Life signs Deft · opens in a new tabWith Hanwha Life Esports, won against Afreeca Freecs to reach 300 career LCK wins.
Source 21 · Fomos (Korean) · Deft reaches 300 LCK wins · opens in a new tabLost 0-3 to T1 in the quarterfinals in Reykjavik, Iceland, and went out.
Source 22 · OSEN (Korean) · T1 sweeps Hanwha Life · opens in a new tabReturned to DRX after one year. He joined with Beryl (Cho Geon-hee) and Zeka (Kim Geon-woo).
Source 23 · Kyunghyang Games (Korean) · DRX 2022 roster · opens in a new tabReached 2,000 career LCK kills in a match against Fredit BRION. He is the second player in LCK history to do so, after Faker.
Source 24 · Fomos (Korean) · Deft reaches 2,000 LCK kills · opens in a new tabSource 25 · The Games Daily (Korean) · 2,000 kills, second after Faker · opens in a new tabAs DRX’s captain, beat T1 3-2 in the Worlds final in San Francisco to win his first Worlds title. Born in 1996, he became the oldest champion in Worlds history.
His contract with DRX ended and he joined Dplus KIA.
Source 09 · Kyunghyang Games (Korean) · Damwon Kia signs Deft · opens in a new tabReturned to KT Rolster after five years. He joined with Pyosik (Hong Chang-hyeon).
Source 27 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Super Team Returns, Deft back at KT · opens in a new tabAhead of his military enlistment, KT held a send-off event, “Farewell Deft,” at Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, Seoul.
Source 28 · OSEN (Korean) · Not retirement, just goodbye for now · opens in a new tabEnlisted in the military. His expected discharge date is Nov. 18, 2026.
Source 29 · Daily eSports (Korean) · Deft enlists today · opens in a new tabNamed a performance analyst for the national LoL team at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games while serving as an active-duty soldier. He joined with Rascal (Kim Kwang-hee) with permission from the Military Manpower Administration and his unit.
Source 30 · OSEN (Korean) · Deft and Rascal named performance analysts · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2013–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Games · South Korea
Oct 23, 1996 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1996: the year of the event minus 1996, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.29 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.