Some of the biggest off-season moves have come from Invictus Gaming, LNG Esports and JD Gaming. Invictus Gaming have added a new head coach, assistant coach, coach, jungler and mid-laner for the upcoming season after an underwhelming 13th-place finish in the LPL Summer 2022 split. LNG Esports acquired a new AD carry, support and top-laner, however, their biggest addition was in the mid-lane where they signed, World Championship winner and LPL legend, Lee ��Scout�� Ye-chan, who made the move from Edward Gaming after five years.
JD Gaming also made changes during the offseason, with their long-time mid-laner Zeng ��Yagao�� Qi and AD Carry Wang ��Hope�� Jie leaving a big hole in two key lanes for the team. However, the JD Gaming organisation made two massive signings, with one being Zhuo ��knight�� Ding from Top Esports and the other being the legendary LCK AD carry, Park ��Ruler�� Jae-hyuk from Gen.G.
Many esports betting sites have JD Gaming as their clear favourite at $2.50, followed by Top Esports ($4.00) and Royal Never Give Up ($5.00).
LPL Spring 2023 Top Tip – JD Gaming
Our top tip for the LPL Spring split will be the favourites, JD Gaming, as they have improved significantly since their LPL Summer 2022 success and semi-final exit at Worlds 2022. The addition of Zhou ��knight�� Ding from rivals Top Esports, who had the highest KDA of 10 during the LPL Summer 2022 regular season, should bolster their mid-lane dominance going forward. Even though adding knight seems to be a massive coup, the second of the new signings, Park ��Ruler�� Jae-hyuk, is set to be one of the biggest player moves across the international League of Legends professional scene.
Ruler, much like knight, recorded the top KDA of 7.6 in the LCK Summer 2022 split when playing for the LCK Summer 2022 champions, Gen.G. Ruler is one of the best AD carry��s in the world and he won the 2017 World Championship with Samsung Galaxy before making the move to Gen.G and playing for the Korean juggernaut for over five years.
These two signing for JD Gaming makes them a clear favourite, especially when you add the fact that they are the reigning LPL champions. We aren��t getting much value with the $2.50 on offer with GG Bet, but when you consider that Top Esports, Edward Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Royal Never Give Up have undergone big roster changes, it is hard to see them challenging JDG this split.
JD Gaming To Win Outright
The organization published a video in which they said their goodbyes to the reputable player. Also noting that the exit of the League of Legends�� player ended in an amicable manner.
[Farewell, @RulereluR]
Upon mutual agreement, we say goodbye to a player whose story will forever live in Gen.G's history.
Though today marks the start of his new chapter, he will always have our support & appreciation.
Thank you, Ruler.
https://t.co/m762F9w2RP pic.twitter.com/j6bmPVTgpj
— Gen.G Esports (@GenG) November 10, 2022
According to the Chief Operating Officer of Gen.G, Arnold Hur, the organization was willing to keep the player by extending his contract. But, Ruler made the decision to leave regardless.
“Though we had a team option to extend his contract, when he asked to become an FA, I knew there��s no way we would stand in his way,” said Hur.
“He has proven himself with the team every step of the way, and I respect and admire his desire to take the next step in his incredible career.”
The 23-years-old bot laner has been playing on the team since November 2017, which is quite a stretch in the esports scene, as players mostly spend just a season or two which spans for few months. Ruler, who has represented mainly Korean organizations, has played for teams such as Stardust, Samsung Galaxy, and KSV.
The player has competed in most of all the LCK events ever hosted since he graced the professional scene in 2016. He has also won multiple awards individually and tournament awards while representing various teams.
Ruler have leveraged his skillful prowess to break into multiple international stage such as participating in the 2016 World Championship while representing Samsung Galaxy, in 2017 Worlds he also represented the team, and during his stint with Gen.G he lead them right from the 2020 Worlds, the 2021, and the just recent 2022 Worlds championship where they earned a 3rd-4th place loosing to DRX at the semifinals.
While Gen.G will be looking to sign a new player to replace Ruler, it is currently unknown which route the player will take next. Recently, players have been switching roles, retiring, and deciding to transition into a different esports title entirely. While all of this is a probability, it is most likely that a Korean team might already be having negotiations on signing the player ahead of the next season.
]]>Ruler is known as one of the most impressive AD carries in the history of League of Legends, and the title is just another addition to his already bulky trophy case. It is, however, the first LCK MVP award the player has earned after playing in the league for seven seasons.
In the World��s Championship with Samsung Galaxy in 2017, Ruler won the tournament and deprived SK Telecom T1 of the chance to get a three-peat. His performance in the competition helped him attain the Finals MVP honors. However, the LCK Summers Split was the first time Ruler was given an MVP award on the domestic stage.
Ruler was reportedly given 21 out of the available 40 votes for first place when deciding the LCK��s MVP award. He was also present on almost all the ballots for the top five gamers during the recently concluded split.
Among the LCK players in the split, the Gen.G ADC player had the highest KDA with a score of 7.6. He also reportedly led the league in the number of kills together with Lee “Prince” Chae-hwan, the AD carry of Liiv SANDBOX, with 213 kills each. Both players also tied for the ��Player of the Split�� trophy as they had both had the same number of ��Player of the Game�� awards during the summer.
In the just concluded tournament, the League of Legends player helped the team become the third squad in LCK history to win 17 matches or more in one split. The organization was able to get an almost perfect match record of 17-1 during the competition.
Gen.G crowned themselves as the best team in Korea due to their performance in this split and surpassed T1 with two full matches in the loss row in the regular season in the standings. T1 previously dropped three matches during the domestic phase and finished the split with a 15-3 record. The team was also the only squad this summer to rob Gen.G of a match after defeating them with a 2-1 scoreline in July.
Besides that, this summer, Gen.G came out victorious in around 35 individual matches with only five losses. The impressive game record of 35-5 can be equated to an 87.5 percent winning percentage in the team��s individual games this summer.
The score is the most notable single split mark made by any squad in the history of LCK, including T1. No Korean squad has won as many individual matches in a split with such a small number of losses. 14 of Gen.G��s 17 games won during this plot were reportedly via a two-game sweep.
The team was the reigning champions of the Spring Split and ended their regular season with an impressive 18-0 record. T1 recorded no losses and rounded out their phenomenal performance by besting DRX for the LCK Spring Split. They were the only team in LCK history to finish a split without losing a single series and broke their own record of the highest LCK victories in a split with a 14-0 record.
Gen.G had an impressive near-sweep during the awards season, besides Ruler��s MVP win. Four players from the team were placed on the first All-Pro team. Go “Score” Dong-bin, the team��s first-year head coach, was also awarded the title of LCK Coach of the Year.
In their first postseason game of the Summer Split, set to take place this week, Gen.G will return to the LCK stage. They will directly get into the second-round of the LCK playoffs and be given the opportunity during their semifinal match on August 20 to pick their opponents.
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