Former APEX PEOPLE player Nam “Sound” Hyeong-ju has announced his retirement as a professional VALORANT player.
When contacted by VALO2ASIA, the 25-year-old said that for the time being, he is not interested in pursuing any coaching or player positions in order to concentrate on his goal of “teaching students in an academy”. While he is no longer involved in esports, for the time being, he hopes to return to space on which he has left a mark, particularly the Korean esports scene.
His name first appeared on the international radar in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as a player for m0nster.kr together with XigN, Agency, HSK, and rindA. MVP Project would shortly acquire the team months after the initial formation. During his time under the legendary banner, he helped the team to reach the top three placement in IeSF World Championship 2016. He retired from the game in 2016.
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(Photo courtesy of HLTV)
Sound returned four years later in Riot’s first-person shooter with PROPARTY, which would eventually become NUTURN Gaming. However, he did not join NUTURN through the transition and instead joined APEX PEOPLE as an in-game leader. Together with Sound, APEX PEOPLE lifted the trophy of VCT Korea Stage 1 Challengers 3 and placed 7th-8th in the VCT Korea Stage 1 Masters. However, one week after the latter tournament, the organization announced its disbandment.
During the last month of his VALORANT career, Sound represented Korea in the Red Bull Campus Clutch – World Final Stage, finishing 3rd-4th.
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Cover photo courtesy of StarLadder
