Welcome, Liquid'Mickey
July 24 2017
After an extensive search, we are pleased to announce Young-min "Mickey" Son from ROX Tigers has officially signed a 1-year and 4-month contract with Team Liquid this month that will last until November 20th, 2018. He will move to the team house once his Visa and paperwork are completed. Mickey will join the team as part of our 10-man roster and we look forward to seeing how well he develops with the current line-up.
"Mickey is young, ambitious, and a hard worker. He brings a desire to win, an aggressive play style and an enthusiasm to play in North America and we're excited about that. As an organization, we have some of the best resources in terms of accommodating a Korean who has not yet been to North America and we feel like we're well-positioned to give Mickey a healthy transition."
- Steve Arhancet, Co-CEO and Owner
"Mickey is a talented mid laner, in both the short and long term I think he should help out the team. I hope the fans root on for Mickey's new challenge."
- Cain, Head Coach
![[image loading]](/staff/shiroiusagi/tlpro/articles/tlborder.png)
About Mickey
Mickey made his professional debut in 2016 as a member of the LCK team, Afreeca Freecs after stints in the LPL with Team WE Academy.
As a player, Mickey is young and hungry, offering an unabashed confidence to the midlane. He shines under pressure and has come out on top of some of the strongest midlaners in League’s history, even getting the best of Faker himself on multiple occasions.
While playing in the most competitive league in the world, Mickey has not only faced the most elite pool of mid talent across all regions, he has been exposed to world-class team play, macro strategy, and most importantly the unforgiving synergy of Korean mid-jungle duos such as Kuro and Peanut, Faker and Bengi, and more.
In the game, Mickey’s laning aggression will set the stage for our playmaking jungler, allowing them to build long-term synergy and unlock the valuable potential of a double threat for midlane strength. On top of this, Mickey’s ability to carry through high damage output and split-pushing pressure on champions such as LeBlanc and Vladimir pays compliment to Piglet’s own toolset in these areas.
Stats:
On the Afreeca Freecs in 2016, Mickey brought the team to playoffs in both splits, impressing fans and casters alike with his hyper-aggressive playstyle. Though their playoff performances as a team were less than stellar, Mickey bloomed in the Spring and Summer Splits of 2016. It was Mickey’s game impact at this time that was especially impressive and attractive for our own roster:
In the 2016 Summer Split Mickey boasted a 30.8% damage share and a 75.3% kill participation, both within the top three of the league. He brought this to even greater heights after moving on to the Rox Tigers in 2017—leading the league in the same stats with a damage share of 29.9% and a kill participation of 74.1% at the end of the Spring Split. This is a perfect quantification of what we look forward to with Mickey on our roster; it’s time Team Liquid has a midlaner who’s a force to be reckoned with.
We were impressed by Mickey’s desire to come to North America and compete in the NA LCS. Mickey considers this a new personal challenge and it is our responsibility as his new team to match this drive and we’re wholly confident in our infrastructure and support to bolster Mickey’s goals accordingly. This will not only ensure a smooth adjustment to his new environment, but an overall growth for Mickey as an individual and player under the Team Liquid banner.
