Knight and Ruler join Kanavi on JDG roster

When it comes to leaking news from the eastern regions, we should all probably thank DoinB. The former World Champion might have had a slow offseason in terms of announcing his future plans, but he did spoil everyone else’s plans. His latest rumors about JDG are now confirmed, with the team announcing the acquisition of Ruler and Knight.

Bot laner Ruler joins JDG

Well, the best team in the Chinese LPL, just got a lot stronger on paper. But we will need a lot of proof before crowning them in the offseason. As great as the LPL has been on the international stage these past few years, failing to meet expectations has been a recurring issue. Now, they are adding one of the main characters from those stories.

Ruler’s legacy on Gen G

That’s why JDG went out of the domestic scene and got more reinforcements. Acquiring one of the best LCK bot laners certainly worked out for EDG. They won everything they could in 2021. Why shouldn’t JDG be able to do the same in 2023? On top of that, Ruler joins the LPL as a former World Champion. He knows what it takes to win on the biggest stage. Something that JDG has failed to do despite coming close in recent years. As for Ruler, his time had come. His four years with Gen G have always been shrouded in disappointments. The amount of times Gen G has had a great year before choking in the most crucial moments, can’t be kept track of.

And 2022 was no different. Despite having one of the greatest mid lane talents in Chovy besides him, Gen G and Ruler lost in the semifinals at the World Championship. The summer of 2022 was when he finally captured that LCK title that had long eluded him. Becoming the MVP of the LCK after a nearly spotless 17-1 record must have felt good. 2000 kills and 5 penta kills later, Ruler is leaving the LCK as an all-time great at his position. It’s time for a new challenge, and JDG might be the best situation to accomplish that. 

Knight dumps TES for JDG

Another world-class talent found himself in a similar situation. Similarly to Ruler, Knight has been performing like one of the best at his position. But time and time again, something else has prevented Top Esports and Knight from achieving greatness. He is yet to win an LPL title, despite becoming the second-fastest player to reach 2000 kills in the LPL. He still holds the record for most solo kills in a regular split, recording 35 in the summer of 2021. But all that amounted to was an eight-place finish in the playoffs and no World Championship berth. 

Even in 2022, when they were at arguably their best form ever, TES lost in the most TES way possible. Jackeylove giveth and Jackeylove taketh 40 minutes into a crucial game five to determine the LPL champion. More disappointments followed suit at the 2022 World Championship, where TES started playing up to par only after being eliminated. TES went 1-1 against every competitor in group C, despite being projected to be stronger than all of them. Additional salt in the wound must be their loss to GAM Esports, which was the only win at the tournament for the Vietnamese representatives.

Knight replaces Yagao as JDG mid laner

Now after four years of climbing up the developmental ranks at Top Esports, Knight is taking his talents to JDG. Joining Ruler and replacing one of his direct opponents in Yagao, must sound like a movie script. The careers of those have been intertwined ever since they made a name for themselves in the same local PC club in Pingxiang. Now the pressure is on Knight to perform and deliver. It’s not about individual statistics anymore. He’s joining his former top laner on a new team that’s already used to winning. This team has a projected lineup composed of 4 top five players in their role in the world. Anything less than a triple crown would be a disappointment. And we’ve seen plenty of that before from these players. Hopefully, this is their redemption arc.

JDG re-sign jungler Kanavi and keep top laner 369

Much was made of JDG’s 2022 off-season coming of the World Championship. 369 was the best top laner in the world at the tournament and in the previous 6 months. Kanavi was the heart and soul of this team ever since he joined them 3 years ago. But his contract was now up and JDG was the only team he had played for since his Griffin days. Maybe a return to the LCK was in his plans?

Viper already said he was going back, regardless of who was taking him. Reigning World Champion Zeka requested Kanavi as his jungler, so he would re-sign with DRX. In the end, Kanavi trusted his team and stayed put. Despite the salary cap that the LPL is trying to impose, Kanavi received his contract extension. 369 was coming off the best year in his career and being joined by his running mate in 2020. Him and Knight brought TES their first LPL title during that year’s summer split, decimating opponents on the regular. An MSI title and a fourth-place finish at the 2020 World Championship was all they could muster up. Now with new reinforcements and a great structure in place, it’s time to break expectations. 

Missing and Homme stay on JDG

As great as the new additions should be, JDG already had a good thing going for them in 2022. Coach Homme helped Kanavi become one of the best junglers in the world, earning them two LPL titles. Their 2021 campaign might have failed to achieve anything notable, but you have to remember that the LPL is the most competitive region in the world. Going into 2022, nobody could have imagined 369 becoming what he showed. And much of that credit goes to coach Homme. 

But it wasn’t just the top side. JDG managed to reach their peak right in the middle of the Sivir/ Zeri meta. While both champions were beyond broken, it took a lot of effort to pull them off against the world’s elite. Fans might have a sour memory of Hope and Missing getting destroyed in lane by Gumayushi and Keria, but that’s T1. There is no shame in losing to the best bot lane in the world. DRX and Deft also proved that you can win despite their efforts, by beating them in the Grand Finals. Hope might be out of the equation but Missing was still responsible for their success in 2022. Teams like this one often require a glue guy, someone that is willing to make a sacrifice. Having coach Homme alongside Missing and a cerebral jungler like Kanavi should be enough to propel JDG to their 2023 goals.

Header: Riot Games