Gen.G Signs Masters MVP Dambi, DRX Controller MaKo for 2027 VALORANT Roster

Gen.G has signed duelist Lee "Dambi" Hyuk-kyu and controller Kim "MaKo" Myeong-gwan to its VALORANT roster for the 2027 season.

The team announced the signings on a livestream on t3xture's SOOP channel and on X on November 6, confirming that Kim "Karon" Won-tae will also remain with the squad.

"An established veteran of the scene, 'MaKo' Myeong-Kwan Kim joins Gen.G VALORANT for the 2027 season!" the team wrote on X.

Dambi joins from Nongshim RedForce, where he helped the team win Masters Santiago in March with a 3-0 grand final victory over Paper Rex and earned the tournament MVP award.

Gen.G's own announcement opens with that title, calling him "Masters Santiago MVP".

MaKo arrives from DRX, leaving the Vision Strikers organization for the first time since he joined in 2021.

t3xture said on the announcement stream that the fifth player is being trialed and will be revealed later, and the team has not said who will take in-game leader duties.

The signings follow a poor 2026 for Gen.G, which missed every international event despite a 5-0 group stage at Pacific Stage 2, where it was eliminated in the playoffs by Nongshim and T1.

In August, Dambi helped knock his new team out of those playoffs with a 2-1 win.

The rebuild began on November 3, when Gen.G released Ash, Efina and coach peri.

Both Dambi and MaKo come from organizations that missed out on Korea's two VCT partner slots for 2027 and 2028, which went to Gen.G and T1.

DRX released almost its entire roster in October, leaving MaKo on the transfer market from October 22, while Nongshim parted with Dambi on October 20.

Karon and t3xture are the only players remaining from the Gen.G side that won Masters Shanghai in 2024.

Gen.G wrote on X that Karon went "from golden rookie to a formidable veteran" with the team.

Gen.G's provisional 2027 roster is completed by Raxcal, who is under contract through 2028, with solo as head coach and HSK as coach.

No date has been given for the fifth player's reveal.

Dambi arrives after the best year of his career, which also included a third-place finish at the Esports World Cup and second place in Pacific Stage 2.

He was seen as the best Neon player in the world for most of two years, and has added Raze and Waylay to his pool depending on the map.

MaKo has played controller throughout his career and has both taken on and given up the IGL role along the way.

His record with DRX includes four Champions appearances in a row from 2022 to 2025, finishing third in 2022 and 2025, and his biggest VCT title is the 2025 Pacific Kickoff.

Gen.G wrote that MaKo brings "strategic leadership and in-game presence", but did not say whether he will call.

The four players overlap in roles, with Karon and MaKo both playing controller, and t3xture and Dambi both duelists.

Karon was tried as a sentinel at the start of 2026, but he has looked best on smokes.