Flashback retires from competition; DRX sign Hermes as replacement
DRX’s academy-to-mainstay staple Flashback steps away from pro play, with former FEARX duelist Hermes promoted into his first VCT Pacific chance.
SOUTH KOREA – Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk has announced his retirement from competitive VALORANT, closing out a career spent entirely under the DRX banner across both the academy and main rosters. DRX have moved quickly to fill the opening, bringing in former FEARX player Ahn “Hermes” Byeong-wook.
“Following the conclusion of the 2025 VCT OFF//SEASON, Flashback approached our management to discuss his future and formally requested his contract to be terminated in order to retire and re-center his life away from competitive VALORANT. After numerous deliberations involving our coaching staff, management, and players, all parties have ultimately agreed to support Flashback’s decision.”
Flashback’s career is a rare case of a player spending his entire top-level journey under one banner. Rising through DRX’s pipeline and eventually becoming a main roster fixture, he played two seasons with the organization at the highest level in VCT Pacific and helped DRX consistently remain one of Pacific’s most reliable international representatives across that span.
Across three seasons with DRX, Flashback qualified for three international events: Champions Seoul, Masters Bangkok, and Champions Paris. DRX consistently represented Korea with at least a top 5–6 finish during that stretch, with their Champions Paris run ending on the podium.
Flashback first earned a call-up to the main roster at the end of 2023, but his tenure included two separate stints away from the lineup. The first came in April 2024, when he requested an indefinite leave for personal reasons before returning in late May. The second occurred in April 2025, when he was moved down to DRX Academy, only to be reinstated in July.
Upon announcing his retirement, Flashback issued an emotional message reflecting on the difficulties of the past year:
“I’m really sorry for causing so much harm because of my issues all this time. I feel like I’m a disgrace of a player for not being able to see it through to the end, and I’m truly sorry to the fans and my teammates. I’m stepping away from being a pro here, but I sincerely hope DRX wins everything this year and does well. I was so happy that my first team, and my last team, was DRX. I’m sorry, and thank you.”
In server, Flashback was a steady source of firepower for DRX, most notably as a sentinel, and more recently as part of a dual-duelist look alongside Song “HYUNMIN” Hyun-min in Yoru and Neon compositions.
Hermes now steps into tier one for the first time after competing across several Korean teams, including F4Q, Maru Gaming, Dplus KIA, and FEARX.
The 20-year-old spent most of his 2025 season primarily on duelist roles with FEARX, helping the team win Challengers Korea Stage 1 and Stage 2, before a third-place finish in Stage 3. FEARX later fell to SLT Seongnam 1–3 in the Road to Ascension Grand Finals, missing out on a spot at Ascension Bangkok.
With DRX having qualified for Champions Paris last year, the team will begin Kickoff 2026 seeded into round two, where they will face the winner of ZETA DIVISION vs. FULL SENSE. DRX also sit on the same side of the bracket as T1, Nongshim RedForce, and Team Secret.
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Cover photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games