The League of Legends World Championship is where icons are made and esports’ finest are etched into the history books forever, and this year, two players are preparing to set a historic record that might not ever be touched again.
China’s JD Gaming are heavy favorites to win the Summoner’s Cup this year, mostly because of the immense amount of firepower they wield on their starting roster. Superstars like AD carry Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok have destroyed the competition throughout 2023, and now, they can become two of the only players in history to win every event they’ve attended, including the elusive Asian Games.
Many people are aware that JD Gaming could complete League esports’ first Grand Slam, which includes winning both regional championships, the Mid-Season Invitational, and Worlds in one year. It is an achievement that has never been accomplished across the history of the esport, even among the greatest to play the game, like iconic mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
The Grand Slam would already place them in a class of their own, but only Ruler and Kanavi could say that they pulled off the Grand Slam on top of winning the 2023 Asian Games with Team Korea. The Asian Games is a multi-sport event that takes place between countries across Asia, and is only held every four years.
As a result, there is a good chance that in four years, we might not see a team as dominant as JDG is at this current moment. The chance of a team pulling off the Grand Slam is already slim, but adding in the Asian Games as another layer of greatness makes this tournament one of the biggest in the careers for both Ruler and Kanavi.
This would also mark Kanavi’s first Summoner’s Cup win after being considered by many as the best jungler in the world over the last few seasons, while Ruler would become only the seventh player in history to win more than one World Championship. This would also cement himself as the best ADC in League history, while also bringing back the trophy to China after DRX’s Cinderella run in 2022.
