Invictus Gaming has signed bot laner Zhang “Wink” Rui for the 2021 LPL Spring Split, the League of Legends team announced earlier today.
Wink competed with eStar in 2020, earning a top-eight placing in the spring playoffs and finishing toward the bottom of the standings the following split. With Wink leaving the team to go to IG, Academy bot laner rat has been promoted to eStar’s main roster for the upcoming season.
Wink started his career as a professional player in 2017 by joining Royal Club, which competed in the LDL as RNG’s Academy team. He was promoted to the main roster the following year as a substitute for veteran player Uzi. After joining eStar in 2020, he’ll start the next season with IG.
Despite starting off the 2020 season strong by coming in first place in the regular season of the Spring Split, IG placed fourth in the playoffs. The same trend happened again in the summer with IG earning a third-place finish in the regular season and then coming in sixth place in the playoffs.
The team ended the season in a disappointing fashion by missing a spot in the World Championship after losing to LGD in the Regional Finals.
IG now has three bot laners on its main roster, so it’s unclear if Wink will be considered the starting ADC or if Puff and Snow will remain on the team for the upcoming season. IG’s roster has yet to be finalized, contrary to its Academy team, which was revealed yesterday.
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